The Philadelphia Eagles won their first Super Bowl back in February, and coach Doug Pederson said back in May that the decision on whether or not to attend the White House ceremony was up to each individual player. On top of that, the NFL is currently trying to force players to stand for the national anthem on questionable legal grounds after Donald Trump reportedly put pressure on team owners.
Luckily for anyone who might’ve been on the fence, our big wet baby president just made the decision for them.
“The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow,” Trump said. “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 Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better.”
This isn’t the first time Trump has disinvited a team from the White House ceremony, as he canceled a visit from last year’s NBA champion Golden State Warriors. We’ve reached out to the Eagles for comment and will update with any response we receive. In the meantime: Go birds.
Update, 11:24 p.m: The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that fewer than ten players had planned to attend the ceremony anyway.
“It has been incredibly thrilling to celebrate our first Super Bowl championship,” the Eagles told the paper in a statement which didn’t really address Trump’s cancellation whatsoever. “Watching the entire Eagles community come together has been an inspiration. We are truly grateful for all of the support we have received and we are looking forward to continuing our preparations for the 2018 season.”
Former Eagles wide receiver Torrey Smith, who was on the Super Bowl-winning team, also responded to Trump on Twitter: