Ex-NBA player wears ‘Trump Won’ on head during game

Basketball player Royce White sported a pro-Trump message on his head during the final game of the Big3 League on Sunday night.

White, a former National Basketball Association (NBA) player who is now co-captain of the Big3 League’s ‘Power’ team founded in 2017 by musician Ice Cube, wrote the words ‘Trump won’ on the side from his head. during the game. His post echoes former President Donald Trump’s claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him by widespread voter fraud despite a lack of substantial evidence to support those claims.

Right-wing pundits quickly took to social media to celebrate the pro-Trump signal from White, who spoke about his conservative politics.

“Royce White knows what’s going on. Trump won. EVERYBODY knows it,” tweeted former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who also claimed voter fraud after narrowly losing her election last November.

Steve Bannon, who served as Trump’s strategist, described White as an “American patriot” in a post on the right-wing social media platform Gettr.

Others, however, offered a more critical view of the message.

“I thought the GOP wanted the athletes to ‘shut up and play’? You see a lot of them celebrating Royce White’s cute pointy tattoo this morning…including the loon @KariLake,” @cdavidsen23 tweeted.

“Royce White is NOT a good person. Why is the @thebig3 platform setting up someone with this individual’s backstory/track record? @icecube want to explain this? ” tweeted Isaiah Whitmore, former political director of Rep. Ilhan Omar. White pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and theft charges in 2009, according to ESPN.

White has previously displayed political messages on his head at Big3 basketball games. Earlier in July, he wrote “Protect RFK Jr.”, a reference to Democratic presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr., who has won praise from some conservatives for his stance on vaccinations.

“Protect RFK JR. I’m surprised they came close to this…Sacred Honor! #Godspeed,” he tweeted on July 2.

Newsweek contacted the Big3 League for comment via their contact form.

What are Royce White’s political views?

White once tried to enter politics himself. During the 2022 midterms, he ran for Congress in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District as a Republican, a deeply Democratic district encompassing Minneapolis that is currently represented by progressive Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

Ultimately, he lost the Republican primary to businesswoman Cicely Davis, who then lost the general election to Omar by nearly 50 points in November.

His campaign website described him as a candidate “fighting for freedom and liberty”. His campaign has touted his positions opposing COVID-19 mandates and “globalists” as well as his support for increased police funding. He also led several “peaceful protests” in Minneapolis following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police.