Misty Copeland is the latest Under Armour athlete to come out against Kevin Plank's support of Trump
TGPRN Under Armour
Misty Copeland was not as harsh as fellow Under Armour athlete Stephen Curry in criticizing CEO Kevin Plank's support of President Donald Trump, but she still had strong words on the subject in an Instagram post on Thursday.
Plank was highly complimentary of Trump in an interview on Tuesday with CNBC's "Fast Money Halftime Report."
"To have such a pro-business president is something that is a real asset for the country," Plank said.
Copeland, a world-class ballet dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, said she spoke at length with Plank.
"I strongly disagree with Kevin Plank's recent comments in support of Trump as recently reported," Copeland wrote. "The one topic I've never backed away from speaking openly about is the importance of diversity and inclusion. It is imperative to me that my partners and sponsors share this belief."
She seemed to demand Plank make a public comment supporting diversity and inclusion:
"As someone who takes my responsibility as a role model very seriously, it is important to me that he, and UA, take public action to clearly communicate and reflect our common values in order for us to effectively continue to work towards our shared goal of trying to motivate ALL people to be their best selves."
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On Wednesday, Curry sarcastically responded to Plank's assessment of Trump.
"I agree with that description," Curry said, "if you remove the -et from 'asset.'"
Curry told The Mercury News that he spent most of Tuesday on the phone with Plank and others at Under Armour. According to The Mercury News, Plank told Curry the comments about Trump were meant "exclusively from a business perspective."
At least one Under Armour athlete has sided with Plank. In an interview with Sporting News, Atlanta Hawks guard Kent Bazemore said he had similar thoughts about Trump winning the presidency.
"That's kind of what my thoughts were when he won the presidency," Bazemore said. "Have a businessman in office, because that's the way the world's trending. ... We've been living some stuff that's been written for 200-300 years. The world has changed. The world has gotten a little smarter. It's good that we have somebody that's hip in that aspect to try to change it."
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