The quarter-back of the Super Bowl MVP, Jalen Hurts, did not visit the White House with his teammates on Monday while the Eagles of Philadelphia celebrated their Super Bowl championship with President Donald Trump.
Hurts, who helped to conduct Philadelphia's victory over the Kansas City chiefs, did not explain why he opted for the ceremony. White House officials City “Planning conflicts” When they asked him for absences from Hurts.
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The Eagles are the third championship team to visit the White House in recent weeks, after The World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers And The Ohio State football teamwho won the CFP national championship.
Visits mark a return to the tradition of Trump's first mandate, in which several championship visits also routine at the White House did not take place Due to the invitations refused or canceled And athletes do not want to be associated with the Trump administration and its policies.
President Donald Trump is flanked by members of the Philadelphia Eagles while celebrating the team's Super Bowl championship. (AP photo / Alex Brandon)
(Associated Press)
The Eagles visit Trump after not having attended his first mandate
The Eagles were among the teams who did not visit Trump's White House during his first mandate after the Franchise Super Bowl championship after the 2017 season.
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Several Eagles players from this team would have chosen not to attend In the midst of Trump's criticism towards the demonstrations of the NFL players for the reform of social justice during the pre-match renderings of the national anthem. Trump had suggested in a 2017 speech That the players who protested during the anthem should be “licensed” while suggesting that the owner of the NFL team should “make this son of AB **** on the field” if a player “lack of respect for our flag”.
The Eagles have planned to send a reduced contingent of players in the midst of opt-out. After the news of this plan, Trump canceled the team’s invitation.
Owner of the Eagles: attendance was “optional”
During a press conference on April 1, the owner of the Eagles, Jeffrey Lurie, explained why his team visited Trump's White House on Monday in the context of the 2018 canceled visit
“Being celebrated in the White House is a good thing,” Lurie told journalists. “There were particular circumstances at the time which were very different, and it was therefore a kind of obvious choice and impatiently awaited.
“When you grow up and you hear about it:” Oh, the championship team was able to go to the White House “, that's what it is. And so we did not have this opportunity and now we do it. I think we are all looking forward to.”
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He also told journalists that players attendance was optional.
“Our culture is that these are optional things”, Lurie said. “If you want to take advantage of it, come and have a good time and if you don't do it, it's totally an optional thing.”
The Eagles have published a statement after the visit noting the “long -standing tradition to visit the White House”.
Hurts didn't want to talk about the White House visit
Hurts, meanwhile, refused to answer last week when he was asked if he was going to attend or not.
Hurts is not the first quarter of the Super Bowl winner to miss a visit to the White House. Tom Brady missed several white house trips after winning the Super Bowls with the New England Patriots.
Brady did not attend the visit to New England in Trump's White House After the Patriots, won the Super Bowl after the 2016 season. Several of the teammates of the Patriots de Brady also jumped this trip. THE The patriots did not visit the White House After winning the Super Bowl after the 2018 season.
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Brady also missed a visit to the White House in 2015 when Barack Obama was president, Citing a planning conflict With “something I have been planning for months”.
Brady attended previous celebrations of the White House of the Patriots when George W. Bush was president and celebrated the Michigan National Championship in 1997 at the White House with President Bill Clinton. He too Visited the White House and President Joe Biden After leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the Super Bowl after the 2021 season.
Saquon Barkley is attending, plays golf with Trump
Star Ballo Sacon Barkley at the ceremony and spent Sunday before the celebration playing golf with Trump. Barkley made criticism for golf exitto which he responded on Social Networks on Monday, citing his “respect” for the office as a reason to do so.
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Barkley was held near the presidential podium at the ceremony on Monday and shared a handshake with Trump while Trump spoke with brilliant Eagles back and his 2024 season which Manage the honors of the offensive player of the year of the NFL.
More than 40 team members, including Lane Johnson, Cooper Dejean, Lurie and head coach Nick Sirianni, Flanqué Trump during the ceremony. Trump did not mention Hurts during his speech, but noted Hurts's goal line, TUSH push.
Johnson, Sirianni and Lurie each spoke briefly on the podium after being invited by Trump, each declaring “Go Birds”.
The Eagles then presented a signed helmet to Trump.
