It’s been nearly three months since they won the Super Bowl, but the Philadelphia Eagles still have not visited the White House.
Unlike the NBA champion Golden State Warriors, the Eagles have an invitation to visit 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but the socially minded team has yet to accept the offer.
“We have been in conversations with the Eagles about timing and are working with them to make it happen,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told The New York Times. “We hope to have something finalized in the next couple of weeks.”
Eagles players including Chris Long, Malcolm Jenkins and Torrey Smith have previously indicated they’d skip a White House trip due to political reasons if invited.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, who spoke out against Trump in private league meetings last year to discuss fighting social injustice, would also appear to be a likely candidate to skip the trip.
“Another fact I want to throw out there: Many of us have no interest in supporting President Trump,” Lurie said in according to a recording of the meeting obtained by The Times. “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.”
If the team does commit to visiting President Trump, it’s likely the visit would be used as a way to bring attention to social issues.
#Eagles have not committed to a White House visit, but they are discussing it. Given Malcolm Jenkins’ role in calling attention to social issues, this is an important discussion. The statement alludes to using the time to engage the White House, rather than skipping it.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 23, 2018
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