Trump Disinvites Philadelphia Eagles From Visiting White House Over Anthem Controversy
The Philadelphia Eagles, current Super Bowl champions, are no longer scheduled for a visit to the White House, as President Donald Trump announced on Monday, June 4. Trump cited a difference of opinion when it comes to the national anthem as a reason for retracting the invitation.
There is also the matter of who's going, as well. According to a statement by Trump, the Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, a decision that did not satisfy the president.
"The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow," the statement said, as quoted by CNN.
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"They disagree with their President because he insists that they proudly stand for the National Anthem, hand on heart, in honor of the great men and women of our military and the people of our country. The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better," Trump stated.
It would not be the first time a major U.S. sports team has dropped plans to pay a visit to the White House after a championship win. Current NBA defending champions Golden State Warriors have earlier excused themselves from visiting the White House after winning the 2017 finals, but this would be the first time the president canceled the invite first.
It has been a tradition for the current president to invite champions of not just major U.S. professional leagues, but also college sports teams and athletes to the White House.
Aside from the statement, Trump also has something to add as he took to social media to confirm the cancellation of the visit. Aside from noting that the Eagles planned to send "only a small number" of players to the visit, Trump also had something else to say about a new NFL policy.
"Staying in the Locker Room for the playing of our National Anthem is as disrespectful to our country as kneeling. Sorry!" he wrote. The NFL has just put into effect a new policy that would fine club owners if their team or personnel did not stand and pay respect during the National Anthem on the field.
The new policy, however, also leaves room for players who would choose not to pay respect for the anthem to stay in the locker room or "in a similar location off the field" until after the National Anthem has been performed.
Mayor Jim Kenney of Philadelphia immediately came out with a statement slamming the president's decision to disinvite the Eagles from the White House as part of their Super Bowl celebrations.
"Disinviting them from the White House only proves that our President is not a true patriot, but a fragile egomaniac obsessed with crowd size and afraid of the embarrassment of throwing a party to which no one wants to attend," Kenney said, adding that the Philadelphia City Hall is always open to the Eagles.
