President Trump may wind up withholding the White House invitation champions in each of the major American sports traditionally receive, once every member of the newly minted NFL champions has gotten around to deciding on whether they'd be willing to attend. Preliminary reports indicate that a number of Eagles players have already vowed to stay home should the team pay a visit to the nation's capital.
During a recent appearance on the Pardon My Take podcast, defensive end Chris Long confirmed what many had already suspected about him considering he boycotted the WH visit as a member of last year's Patriots team. "Are you kidding me?" Long responded when asked whether he'd be more willing to shake the President's hand this time around. It is expected that running back LeGarrette Blount, who, like Long, was a Patriot who boycotted the visit in 2017, will also skip out on the reception.
While there were no players kneeling prior to Philadelphia's 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, safety Malcolm Jenkins and wide receiver Torrey Smith did raise their fists in its conclusion. Jenkins and Torrey have been some of the most vocal demonstrators to pick up where Colin Kaepernick left off with his protests in 2016. They too had rejected the potential of participating in a White House ceremony, with Jenkins stating plainly, "Nah I personally do not anticipate attending."
It remains to be seen whether the entire team would bypass the opportunity to take part in the exclusive photo-op, as did the NBA's Golden State Warriors this past season, or if the Eagles will go ahead and meet with Trump, with the exception of anyone who is opposed to the idea.
Source: complex.com
