The Philadelphia Eagles will not be honoured at the White House by United States President Donald Trump after he canceled the ceremony intended for the Super Bowl champions on Tuesday.
Instead of hosting the Eagles, the White House will hold a ceremony to “celebrate America” and “loudly and proudly play the National Anthem”.
“The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow. They disagree with their President because he insists that they proudly stand for the National Anthem, hand on heart, in honour of the great men and women of our military and the people of our country,” Trump said in a statement.
“The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better. These fans are still invited to the White House to be part of a different type of ceremony – one that will honour our great country, pay tribute to the heroes who fight to protect it, and loudly and proudly play the National Anthem. I will be there at 3:00 p.m. with the United States Marine Band and the United States Army Chorus to celebrate America.”
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
According to various reports, the Eagles were planning to send between five to 10 players for the White House ceremony.
Former Eagles wide receiver Torrey Smith took to Twitter to confirm that not many Philadelphia players were going to attend.
So many lies smh
— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) June 4, 2018
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 pic.twitter.com/89GUNhJ4eE
Following the statement from Trump, the Eagles released a statement of their own, which did not directly refer to the canceled ceremony.
The statement read: “It has been incredibly thrilling to celebrate our first Super Bowl Championship. Watching the entire Eagles community come together has been an inspiration. We are truly grateful for all of the support we have received and we are looking forward to continuing our preparations for the 2018 season.”
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) June 5, 2018
The situation is similar to the one with the Golden State Warriors last September, when Trump rescinded an invitation to the NBA champions after he said they hesitated in attending.