The New England Patriots will be without their star tight end when the team visits the White House and President Trump to honor their Super Bowl victory.
“I haven’t thought about it. I am not going to go,” Martellus Bennett said in a post-game interview Sunday. “I can elaborate later on in life; right now I am just trying to enjoy this.”
When asked why, Bennett responded: “It is what it is. People know how I feel about it. Just follow me on Twitter.”
Last month, the 29-year-old tweeted, “America was built on inclusiveness not exclusiveness.”
He also said in a recent interview ahead of the Super Bowl that if the Patriots were to win, he would not visit the White House.
“I don’t know. I’ve got to win the Super Bowl first, but most likely no,” Bennett said, according to Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press. “I don’t – that’s not – I don’t support the guy that’s in the house.”
Bennett added on Sunday that he’s “not really worried” about the reaction of Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who is friendly with Trump. Quarterback Tom Brady is as well, but Bennett said that usually players leave politics outside of the football field.
Bennett has been outspoken about politics before. A supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, he slammed Kanye West for meeting with Trump in December.
“So Kanye didn’t take the time to vote. And now he holding on to Trump’s coattail like Peter Pettigrew to Lord Voldemort. Kanye Pettigrew,” Bennett tweeted.
He also raised a fist during the National Anthem at a game in September with teammate Devin McCourty. The protest was to show solidarity with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who sat during the national anthem throughout the season to protest racism in America.
Here are Martellus Bennett and Devin McCourty raising their fists for the National Anthem. Patriots, both. pic.twitter.com/rDilAEaCUj
— Robert Klemko (@RobertKlemko) September 12, 2016
The Patriots had a historic win in Sunday’s Super Bowl by overcoming a 25-point deficit, the largest in Super Bowl history, to beat the Atlanta Falcons in overtime.
