Several Philadelphia Eagles stars to boycott Super Bowl White House victory visit over Donald Trump

Malcolm Jenkins said he did not 'anticipate' accepting an invitation to the White House
Getty Images
Alexandra Richards5 February 2018

Several Philadelphia Eagles players have said they will not attend a Super Bowl winners celebration at the White House in protest of Donald Trump's presidency.

It is tradition for Super Bowl winners to celebrate their victory with a meet and greet with the President but this year several players announced that they will not be attending.

Chris Long who plays defensive for the team and safety Malcom Jenkins claimed that they will be opting out of the visit.

Mr Long announced that he would also not be attending during a podcast interview “No, I’m not going to the White House,” he told the “Pardon My Take” podcast. “Are you kidding me?”

Chris Long (left) said he would not attend a victory celebration at the White House
Getty Images

Mr Jenkins said during an interview for “New Day” that he did “not anticipate” attending the White House.

Asked if he had a message for Mr Trump, he said: "My message has been clear all year... I want to see changes in our criminal justice system. I want to see us push for economical and educational advancement in communities of colour and low-income communities. And I want to see our relationship between our communities and our law enforcement be advanced."

Many players in last year’s winning team the New England Patriots did not attend the White House celebration in order to protest President Trump’s policies.

In the year that followed, Mr Trump had a rocky relationship with the NFL as many players took part in a peaceful protest which saw them kneel during the national anthem to protest institutionalised racism and police brutality.

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As a response to the protests Mr Trump urged the NFL to fire players who knelt.

In a statement released before the Super Bowl, he reignited the debate over the kneeling when he encouraged players to “proudly stand for the anthem.”

During Sunday’s Super Bowl none of the Eagles players knelt, but some raised their fists in solidarity of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Torrey Smith who is wide receiver for the team has previously said that he disapproved of Mr Trump’s stance against players who kneel during the national anthem .

He told NJ.com: "We read the news just like everyone else...You see Donald Trump tweet something ... We have those conversations in the locker room, just like everyone else does in the workplace. We're very informed about what goes on, and we're trying to continue to educate ourselves."

"They call it the anthem protest," he added. "We're not protesting the anthem. It's a protest during the anthem.”

Eagles running back LeGarrette Blount skipped the White House visit when he played with the Patriots last year, but it is not clear if he plans to do so again.

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