After taking down the Los Angeles Rams on Super Bowl Sunday, multiple players on the New England Patriots have already said that they have no interest in a White House visit.
Caught up with by a reporter from TMZ following the Sunday win, New England safety Duron Harmon said he won’t visit President Donald Trump in the White House because he’s supposedly not wanted there.
“Nah, man,” he told TMZ, when asked about a visit to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. “They don’t want me in the White House.”
However, Harmon did say that he’d love to meet Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama.
“That would be dope,” the safety said. “Hey, Obama, come holler at me, man. We love you over here.”
The McCourty brothers, too, are uninterested in a White House visit.
Devin McCourty, a defensive back, and his twin brother Jason McCourty, a cornerback, told the Associated Press on Monday that they won’t be making the trip to Washington. “A day after the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams for their sixth NFL title, Devin McCourty said flatly that he would not join the team for a White House visit,” reported AP.
Jason was a bit more diplomatic about the decline. “I haven’t thought about it, but I highly doubt it,” he said. However, the report added that “Devin playfully accused him of lying and Jason agreed there was virtually zero chance he would go.”
When the Patriots won the Super Bowl in 2017, at least two dozen players were no-shows to the White House celebration, including quarterback Tom Brady, who caught heat for having an iconic “Make America Great Again Hat” in his locker. Brady said he could not attend because of family matters.
As noted by The New York Times, Patriots spokesman Stacey James pointed out that “34 players had attended, similar to the turnout when President George W. Bush hosted them in 2004 and 2005. He said that more than 45 players attended the ceremonies in 2002, after the franchise’s first Super Bowl, and that in 2015, when Barack Obama was president, the number of players approached 50.”
Last year, the Philadelphia Eagles were disinvited to the White House by President Trump after their Super Bowl win.
“President Trump has disinvited the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles from their planned visit Tuesday to the White House. The invitation was canceled over what Trump says is a disagreement on standing during the national anthem,” reported CBS News.
“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!” Trump wrote in a tweet.
“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,” a statement from the president said.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said rescinding the invitation “only proves that our president is not a true patriot, but a fragile egomaniac.”