On Monday, President Trump disinvited the Super Bowl winning Philadelphia Eagles football team to the White House over an apparent disagreement over what players should be doing when the national anthem is played.
Trump tweeted on Monday night that only a small number of players decided to come to the White House to celebrate the team defeating the New England Patriots, 41-33, in Super Bowl LII, and canceled the Tuesday event as a result.
The Philadelphia Eagles Football Team was invited to the White House. Unfortunately, only a small number of players decided to come, and we canceled the event. Staying in the Locker Room for the playing of our National Anthem is as disrespectful to our country as kneeling. Sorry!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2018
On Tuesday morning, Trump tweeted about the canceled White House visit, emphasizing that players should not be able to retreat to the locker room.
[Trump: ‘No escaping to locker rooms’ when White House celebrates national anthem]
We will proudly be playing the National Anthem and other wonderful music celebrating our Country today at 3 P.M., The White House, with the United States Marine Band and the United States Army Chorus. Honoring America! NFL, no escaping to Locker Rooms!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2018
The tweets come after the several Eagles players expressed their opposition to the White House that not every player should be mandated to stand during the national anthem.
Trump tweeted again on Tuesday that players from championship winning teams have stood during the national anthem and attended the White House celebratory visit.
We have had many Championship teams recently at the White House including the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Penguins, New England Patriots, Alabama and Clemson National Champions, and many others. National Anthem & more great music today at 3:00 P.M.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2018
Here’s the problem: not a single player on the championship winning Eagles team took a knee during the national anthem.
Not one.
The only player on the Eagles team this past year that took a knee was Ron Brooks during the preseason, but he didn’t make the 53-man roster to stay with the team during the regular season and their eventual championship run.
In fact, the New England Patriots had over a dozen players kneel during the national anthem during the regular season. If they had won the Super Bowl this year, there would be a pretty slim chance that Trump would disinvite them to the White House. Trump had them visit the White House the previous year to celebrate their Super Bowl win over the Atlanta Falcons, and is good friends with Patriots owner Robert Kraft, head coach Bill Belichick, and quarterback Tom Brady.
