Adrian Fedkiw
The Philadelphia Eagles have officially been invited to the White House, but will the Super Bowl champions actually make the trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that she hopes that something will be finalized within the next couple of weeks, according to a report by the New York Times.
We have been in conversations with the Eagles about timing and are working with them to make it happen. We hope to have something finalized in the next couple of weeks.
An Eagles spokesperson acknowledged to that they are discussing the logistics of an upcoming visit.
We have been in contact with White House representatives and are currently discussing the logistics of an upcoming visit to Washington. We are honored to receive this invitation and view this not only as an opportunity to be recognized for our on-field accomplishments, but also as an opportunity to engage in productive dialogue with the leaders of our country.
The New York Times report portrayed Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie as someone who emphatically disagreed with President Donald Trump’s attack on NFL players who knelt during the national anthem as a means of protest towards social injustice and police brutality against African Americans. The Eagles didn’t have players who knelt, but some, like Malcolm Jenkins, raised their fist up into the air. The white Chris Long put his arm around the African American Jenkins as a way to show solidarity.
The paper also acquired a recording from a league meeting from last November and here’s some of what Lurie had to say about President Trump.
Another fact I want to throw out there: Many of us have no interest in supporting President Trump. Yes, there are some. There are some players who do, too. But this is not where you brandish a group of people because they own assets in a sport we love, supporting what many of us perceive as, you know, one disastrous presidency.
Jenkins, Chris Long and Torrey Smith have already expressed their desire to not wanting to visit the White House and LeGarrette Blount declined to go last year after the New England Patriots’ Super Bowl victory.
When the Eagles actually go, we’ll see how many players decide to stay in Philadelphia.