LeBron James

LeBron says not staying at Trump hotel with Cavaliers was not a statement

Published Dec. 9, 2016 12:29 p.m. ET

Brett Pollakoff

LeBron James didn't stay at his team's hotel for what he said was the first time in his career on Tuesday, and given the fact that the Cavaliers were staying at the Trump SoHo in lower Manhattan, it was worth wondering if he was making some kind of political protest.

But according to the Associated Press, James said that wasn't the case.

LeBron James said he wasn't trying to make a statement by not staying at a Donald Trump-branded hotel with the Cleveland Cavaliers, calling it a personal preference.

"It would be the same if I went to a restaurant and decided to eat chicken and not steak," James said.

James endorsed Hillary Clinton in the presidential election, and campaigned with her in Ohio. It's understandable that he doesn't want to make headlines by commenting on politics in the middle of the NBA season, but one can't help but wonder if his decision not to stay at the Trump SoHo had everything to do with the person who owns the hotel.

Still, "At the end of the day I hope he's one of the best presidents ever, for all of our sake," James said. "For my family, for all us."