Major league sports champions have made White House visits a tradition for nearly a century, dating back to the 1925 World Series-winning Washington Senators, who were hosted by then-President Calvin Coolidge in Washington, D.C.
But during President Donald Trump’s first term in the Oval Office from 2016 to 2020, several league champions either declined to visit or were uninvited. One such team was the 2018 Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles, who had their invite revoked after some players reportedly planned to boycott the event.
Donald Trump: Eagles “Did Want to Come” to White House in 2018
“Well, actually, (the Eagles) did want to come,” Trump told Outkick over the weekend.
“A lot of people wanted to come, including the coach [Doug Pederson] — terrific guy, by the way — but the coach wanted to come. The general manager [Howie Roseman] wanted to come. The owner [Jeffrey Lurie] wanted to come. A lot of people wanted to come. Some of the players wanted to come. And I just said, ‘Just forget it, right?'”
In the interview, Trump also called out the Golden State Warriors, saying, “I also had the problem with the San Francisco basketball team [the Golden State Warriors]. They said, ‘Well, we’ll think about it.’ I said, ‘You don’t have to think; you’re uninvited.'”
When the Eagles’ 2018 visit was canceled, the White House issued a press release stating the cancellation was due to players refusing to “proudly stand for the National Anthem.”
“The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow. 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 statement read.
“The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better. These fans are still invited to the White House to be part of a different type of ceremony — one that will honor our great country, pay tribute to the heroes who fight to protect it, and loudly and proudly play the National Anthem.”
The anthem controversy came just one season after former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick gained national attention for protesting police brutality by kneeling during pregame performances of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Although the Eagles organization never directly addressed the visit or its cancellation after the invite was revoked, the current version of the team — which no longer includes Pederson or most of the 2018 roster — has confirmed it will make the trip to D.C. on April 28 for a makeup visit with Trump, now in his second term.
Trump ended the segment of his Outkick interview by saying, “I look forward to having the Eagles.”