At Least 3 NBA Teams Will Reportedly Stop Staying at Trump Hotels During Road Trips

The NBA's Bucks, Grizzlies, and Mavericks will not stay at Trump hotels during road trips this season.

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Complex Original

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Several NBA teams have reportedly decided not to stay at Donald Trump-branded hotels during road trips this season following the results of the 2016 presidential election. According to an ESPN.com report, the Bucks, Grizzlies, and Mavericks have all made the decision not to stay in Trump hotels, regardless of whether or not Trump still owns a stake in the establishments, and they’re reportedly doing it to avoid associating their organizations with the President-elect. The Trump hotels that are most often used by NBA teams are the Trump SoHo in New York City and the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago.

Not all NBA teams are moving away from staying at Trump hotels during road trips, though. One Eastern Conference team told ESPN.com that they have a contract with the Trump SoHo in NYC that calls for them to stay there during trips to the Big Apple this season. However, that team also revealed that they plan on switching to a different hotel property not associated with the Trump name next season. Seven other teams told ESPN.com they plan on staying at Trump hotels between now and the end of this season, but they did not say whether or not they will continue to patronize Trump hotels in the future. ESPN.com did not reveal the identities of any of the teams that still plan to stay at Trump hotels this season due to privacy concerns.

ESPN.com is also reporting that there are some NBA teams that have never stayed at Trump hotels in the past, and there are others that stopped staying at them in recent years for reasons unrelated to the election. However, the Trump SoHo has reportedly become a popular destination for teams who visit NYC to play both the Knicks and Nets during road trips. Trump doesn’t hold an equity stake in that hotel at this time.

It will be interesting to see how teams from other sports handle their travel arrangements now that Trump has been elected president. There have been some pro athletes, like Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who have refused to stay at Trump hotels over the last year, so it wouldn’t be surprising to hear about other sports teams shifting away from staying in buildings with Trump's name on the side of them.

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