It has become a tradition for the champion teams of the most popular sports in the United States to pay a visit to the White House to share with the president of the United States the joy of their hegemony, their achievement and their legacy for their fans, but the ground does not always look well paved when a logical element is added to the equation: principles and political preferences
On several sadly recent occasions, there have been cases of reluctance on the part of players and coaching staffs who choose not to be part of the contingent that visits the White House, such as the NBA’s Golden State Warriors or the Philadelphia Eagles who won Super Bowl LII
This matter is relevant again in light of the Eagles’ upcoming visit to the White House on April 28, and to the same president who last time decided to cancel the meeting: Donald Trump.
Trump did not want to receive a ‘reduced’ delegation
On that occasion, Trump, who was in his first term, determined that the visit was canceled because the Eagles, who had many players who were not convinced to go, decided to send a reduced delegation to avoid problems based on a decision by owner Jeffrey Lurie, with which the POTUS did not agree.
“The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be honored tomorrow. They disagree with their president, who insists that they should stand proudly during the national anthem, with their hand on their heart, in honor of the great men and women of our armed forces 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,” President Donald Trump wrote in a statement at the time.
This year’s visit is imminent and there will be no surprises
Currently, the situation is different, Trump is in his second term and many years have passed in which rough edges have surely been smoothed over, so for better or worse, now the Eagles are united in a single narrative that has already been confirmed by the White House in the voice of its press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, who announced the meeting as follows: “I know there was a lot of fake news about an invitation that wasn’t sent or was sent, we want to correct the record: we sent an invitation, they enthusiastically accepted and you’ll see them here on April 28.”
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