The Philadelphia Eagles would visit the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl victory if invited, according to multiple reports.
The Eagles were disinvited to the White House in 2018, the last time they won the Super Bowl, after a number of players said they would drop out amid tensions over the anthem protests that had swept the NFL. Donald Trump, then in his first term as president, had attacked players who knelt during the anthem to protest against racial inequality.
Over the weekend, speculation – mostly based on a story published before the Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs in this year’s Super Bowl – grew that they would not visit the White House to celebrate their title. However, ESPN, CNN and the NFL Network reported on Monday that the Eagles intend to attend the White House if invited.
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“We would be honored to visit the White House,” an Eagles source told CNN. “It’s one of the things we had looked forward to doing and we look forward to receiving the invitation.”
In the buildup to this year’s Super Bowl, Eagles offensive lineman Lane Johnson said he would be happy to visit the White House. “I’d be honored to go, regardless of who the president is, but we’ll see. It’s ultimately a team decision. I’ll do what’s best for the team,” Johnson said. In the aftermath of the team’s victory, head coach Nick Sirianni said “we’ll see as we go” when asked about a decision on the visit.
The White House on Monday said it has not yet extended an invitation to the Eagles.
Teams who have won a major championship are traditionally invited to the White House to celebrate their victory with the president. However, during Trump’s first-term several teams were not invited or made it clear they would not attend if they were. Those teams included the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, and the United States Women’s National Team after their victory at the 2019 Women’s World Cup.
While athletes such as Megan Rapinoe and LeBron James were outspoken in their criticism of Trump in his first term, there has been little pushback from the sports world so far in his second term. This month, Trump became the first sitting US president to attend the Super Bowl, and his presence was welcomed by several players, including the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
