White House releases official statement on Eagles and their 'lack of good faith'
New details are emerging in the wake of the Trump administration’s announcement that the Super Bowl champion Eagles were no longer invited to the White House.
The Eagles were scheduled to come to the White House and meet with President Donald Trump on Tuesday. On Monday, though, the White House said they were no longer welcome due to their disagreement with the president’s insistence “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 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
In a Tuesday statement, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders detailed the reason behind the “change of format” for the visit.
Originally, the Eagles had said that 81 people — including players, coaches and other team personnel — would attend the White House visit.
Then, on Friday, the Eagles contacted the White House explaining that “many players would not be in attendance” and thus asking that the date be changed.
They proposed several other dates, but Trump already had plans to be traveling overseas on the days they suggested.
The statement noted that the White House, though it sensed a “lack of good faith” from the team, still tried to communicate with the Eagles to find a date that would work.
“Unfortunately, the Eagles offered to send only a tiny handful of representatives, while making clear that the great majority of players would not attend the event, despite planning to be in D.C. today,” the statement said. “In other words, the vast majority of the Eagles team decided to abandon their fans.”
According to The New York Times, less than 10 members of the team planned to attend the celebration, as most of the Eagles’ players and coaches had opted to boycott the visit.
Though the White House canceled the visit, they did invite the 1,000 fans who were planning on attending to a “a different type of ceremony, one that will honor our great country, pay tribute to the heroes who fight to protect it, and loudly and proudly play the National Anthem,” the administration said in its original statement.
The White House’s explanation for how events transpired has been disputed, most notably by former Eagles wide receiver Torrey Smith, who played on the team last season.
“So many lies,” Smith wrote on Twitter. “Here are some facts 1. Not many people were going to go 2. No one refused to go simply because Trump ‘insists’ folks stand for the anthem 3. The President continues to spread the false narrative that players are anti military.”
https://twitter.com/TorreySmithWR/status/1003785689555664897
Trump, of course, attracted the ire of NFL players when he said at a rally in September that the “sons of b—–s” who kneel during the national anthem ought to be “fired.”
Since then, he has been very vocal about the importance of standing for the anthem.
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