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White House extends formal invitation to Philadelphia Eagles

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The White House has formally extended an invitation to the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles to visit President Donald Trump on June 5 and celebrate the team’s big win over the New England Patriots.

Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters made the announcement Thursday.

It’s a big surprise on a number of levels.

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First and foremost is the fact that numerous prominent Eagles players have already said they wouldn’t go.

Team captain Malcolm Jenkins was one of the first to say he would decline an invitation if it came. That’s not much of a surprise considering how politically active Jenkins has been as a player; he raised his fist in protest during the national anthem for most of the year.

Shortly thereafter, Eagles pass rushers Chris Long and Brandon Graham both said they wouldn’t go. Ex-Eagles and current Panthers receiver Torrey Smith also said he would not attend.

It should be noted that while the invitation seems to have been officially sent, the Eagles have yet to commit to anything.

The last time a sports champion waffled on the decision of visiting the White House, the invitation was ultimately revoked.

In a well-chronicled spat, the White House rescinded an invitation to the NBA champion Golden State Warriors after the team wouldn’t commit. More so, star players Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant were and are both very critical of Trump, and coach Steve Kerr has also been a very outspoken critic of the president.

It’s not as if the Eagles have been particularly glowing in their assessment of Trump.

Do you think the Eagles should accept the invitation to visit the White House?

In particular, team owner Jeffrey Lurie, the patriarch of the modern Eagles organization, reportedly gave a scathing assessment of the current administration.

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“Many of us have no interest in supporting President Trump,” Lurie said at a private meeting of NFL owners, using an expletive to describe Trump’s “disastrous presidency.”

Lurie’s sentiments clearly have rubbed off on his players.

“At this point in time, there’s so much that’s been kind of swirling around that administration, I don’t see it as beneficial at this moment in time to visiting a celebratory fashion,” Jenkins said Thursday per NBC Sports Philadelphia. “But I know for a fact that there are other guys who have dreamt of the opportunity to go to the White House and I think they should have that opportunity. I think as a team, we’re still discussing what exactly that looks like, and we’ll see.”

Last year, the New England Patriots made their Super Bowl champions visit to the White House on April 19, 2017. The majority of the team made the trip, although Tom Brady skipped it to be with his mother.

Rest assured, the Eagles’ visit is shaping up to be far more interesting.

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Bryan Chai has written news and sports for The Western Journal for more than five years and has produced more than 1,300 stories. He specializes in the NBA and NFL as well as politics.
Bryan Chai has written news and sports for The Western Journal for more than five years and has produced more than 1,300 stories. He specializes in the NBA and NFL as well as politics. He graduated with a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. He is an avid fan of sports, video games, politics and debate.
Birthplace
Hawaii
Education
Class of 2010 University of Arizona. BEAR DOWN.
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English, Korean
Topics of Expertise
Sports, Entertainment, Science/Tech




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