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The heightened security and anticipation for President Donald Trump attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday night at Madison Square Garden didn’t please at least one of the San Antonio Spurs stars.
De’Aaron Fox said Trump, who became the first sitting president in history to attend an NBA Finals game after entering MSG 40 minutes prior to tip-off, was “inconvenient on everybody else.” But his head coach, Mitch Johnson, had a contradicting statement about the situation.
“No, I have not felt any inconvenience or – we’ve got a big game tonight,” Johnson responded during a pre-game presser conference, “and trying to continue to find a way to play closer to our standard and our identity than we had in the first two games.
“There’s a lot going on, and I’d much rather be a part of it than not.”
The enhanced security protocols, which included Secret Service, TSA and more joining the NYPD, shook up midtown Manhattan around MSG on Monday. A security wall was placed around the arena, while those fans lucky enough to snag tickets have been seen moving in slow masses due to the extra security checkpoints.
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Fox spoke at the Spurs’ shootaround on Monday, where he was admittedly irked about his usual routine being changed.
“We got, obviously, more security. We gotta like send stuff early. I think our busses are a little earlier.”
Fox also noted being “screened like it’s TSA,” with photos surfacing on social media of Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama getting screened by security personnel before entering “The Garden.”
“It’s a little inconvenient for the people that’s got to play, but it is what it is,” Fox added.
Knicks head coach Mike Brown didn’t answer when asked if it was appropriate for the president to attend the game, but he did answer what his own commute was like back at home after winning the first two games of this best-of-seven series on the road.
“A lot of people text me all the time about this and that, and for me, my focus is just what’s next and what’s in front of me, and Game 3 is front of us right now. I feel our group is that way, too,” he said.
“Coming here, I stayed downtown because we were practicing here. So I stayed downtown at the team hotel. I’ve never done that on a game before. But it’s easier because we’re practicing here, and so staying downtown and coming from our hotel to here was shorter driver or a shorter commute than what I’m used to coming from Westchester County.”
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Trump has attended numerous sporting events since beginning his second term, including the Super Bowl in New Orleans two seasons ago, the Daytona 500 and the Ryder Cup.
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