The Philadelphia Eagles have confirmed they are going to go to the White Home to have fun their victory over the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs on this yr’s Tremendous Bowl.
The information was introduced by the White Home press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, on Tuesday, and later confirmed by an Eagles spokesperson.
“I do know there was plenty of faux information about an invite that wasn’t despatched or was despatched, we wish to appropriate the file: we despatched an invite, they enthusiastically accepted, and you will note them right here on 28 April,” Leavitt mentioned.
The Eagles had been disinvited to the White Home in 2018, the final time they gained the Tremendous Bowl, after various gamers mentioned they’d drop out amid tensions over the anthem protests that had swept the NFL. Donald Trump, then in his first time period as president, had attacked gamers who knelt throughout the anthem to protest towards racial inequality. On the time, Trump wrote on social media that the Eagles had been in dispute “with their President as a result of he insists that they proudly stand for the Nationwide Anthem, hand on coronary heart, in honor of the nice women and men of our navy and the folks of our nation.”
Within the buildup to this yr’s Tremendous Bowl, Eagles offensive lineman Lane Johnson mentioned he can be joyful to go to the White Home. “I’d be honored to go, no matter who the president is, however we’ll see. It’s in the end a group choice. I’ll do what’s greatest for the group,” Johnson mentioned. Within the aftermath of the group’s victory, head coach Nick Sirianni mentioned “we’ll see as we go” when requested a couple of choice on the go to.
Whereas Trump’s first time period in workplace led to various athletes, corresponding to LeBron James and Megan Rapinoe, criticizing the president, there was little pushback from the sports activities world thus far in his second time period. In February, Trump grew to become the primary sitting US president to attend the Tremendous Bowl, and his presence was welcomed by a number of gamers, together with the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
Groups who’ve gained a significant championship are historically invited to the White Home to have fun their victory with the president. Nonetheless, throughout Trump’s first-term a number of groups weren’t invited or made it clear they’d not attend in the event that they had been. These groups included the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, and the US Ladies’s Nationwide Crew after their victory on the 2019 Ladies’s World Cup.
