Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert Says He Received 'Most Vile, Disgusting, Racist' Voicemails After LeBron's Trump Tweet

After LeBron James posted the tweet where he called Donald Trump a "bum" for withdrawing the Golden State Warriors' invitation to the White House, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert says he received a ton of eye-opening racist voicemails directed at his star player. "The thing is, I mean, some of the most disgusting things I've ever heard people say," Gilbert said on Friday's episode of CNBC's Squawk Box. "And you could hear it in their voice—the racism. It wasn't even really about the issue, and that's what really got me, because they went to who they really are, some of them."

The voicemails opened Gilbert's eyes to the despicable racism that still exists today. "I received voicemails after LeBron tweeted that were some of the most vile, disgusting, racist [messages]," he said. "There's an element of racism that I didn't even realize existed in this country this much." Gilbert admits to saving the voicemails, but has yet to tell LeBron about them—though he presumably knows now...

Earlier this week, Gilbert, whose company donated $750,000 towards Trump's inauguration and who allowed him to use the Cavaliers' Quicken Loans Arena for the 2016 Republican National Convention, released a statement addressing his relationship with the president of the United States. "Our interests are in the policies at the federal level, and not the politics surrounding the elections," the statement read. "We have often supported both political parties in the same election so that we have the ability to impact positive change, regardless of who occupies the offices." Gilbert and his wife did give a much smaller donation ($75,000) to Hillary Clinton's campaign.