A report surfaced last month saying the team wouldn’t go if they won, just as they didn’t visit after winning in 2018.
The Philadelphia Eagles will visit the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl victory.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the news at the
daily press briefing on March 11. The possibility of the Eagles visiting the White House was initially a subject of controversy, after reports surfaced that the team would not accept the invitation. The Eagles did not visit the White House after they won Super Bowl LII in 2018.
“April 28, I can confirm that the Philadelphia Eagles will be here at the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl victory,” Leavitt said. “I know there was a lot of fake news about an invitation that wasn’t sent or was sent. We want to correct the record. We sent an invitation. They enthusiastically accepted, and you will see them here on April 28.”
A team spokesperson confirmed to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s
John Clark on Monday that they had accepted the invitation.
The initial report, originally published by the tabloid U.S. Sun on Feb. 6, three days before the game, cited an anonymous “well-placed insider” who said that during discussions between the players and front office about a potential White House visit, the players responded with a “massive no.”
“We focus on the game for now, but if we win the Super Bowl, we wouldn’t go to the White House,” an anonymous member of the Eagles’ ownership group said, via the Sun.
The Sun also quoted an anonymous “current player” who said that “pretty much everyone” decided that they would not accept.
“We represent a city and a state that is pushing for equal rights, respect, and values that respect every human being,” the anonymous player said. He pointed to Trump’s criticism of the Eagles’ social justice protests, and said the players “won’t back down from our values of respect, integrity, and equality.”
The Eagles dismissed those reports right away, and Clark reported on
Feb. 24 that the team would accept an invitation. At the time, the White House had not yet sent one.
Pro Football Talk later reported, quoting a “source with direct knowledge of the team’s plans,” that the team would be honored to attend and had not even considered turning the invitation down.
Trump
announced he would send the invite the next day. “I thought it was a great performance by them, and absolutely they'll be extended an invitation,” he said in the Oval Office on Feb. 25. He then looked to a staffer and asked her to send the invite. “We’re going to do it sometime today. They deserve to be down here, and we hope to see them.”
When the Eagles did not visit in 2018, the NFL’s social justice protests during the singing of the national anthem were in full swing, and Trump repeatedly criticized players who refused to stand for the anthem. Trump disinvited the team after most of the players refused to attend.
“The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow,” Trump said in a
statement at the time. “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.”
Eagles players
Malcolm Jenkins and
Torrey Smith responded, criticizing Trump for using the anthem protests as his reason for canceling and reiterating their commitment to social justice.
