Philadelphia Eagles' Players Say Donald Trump Lied About Why Team's White House Visit Was Canceled

The Philadelphia Eagles will not go to the White House Tuesday, as previously scheduled to celebrate their Super Bowl championship. President Donald Trump canceled the visit when he learned only a small number of players planned to attend the event.

“The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow,” Trump said in a statement Monday. “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. The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better.”

According to multiple reports, fewer than 10 Eagles planned on visiting the White House. That would account for less than 15 percent of the players that were part of Philadelphia's active roster, injured reserve list and practice squad when they defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII.

In Trump’s statement and subsequent tweets, the President indicated that members of the team chose to refrain from going to the White House because of his comments on the NFL’s national anthem policy. Trump was outspoken during the 2017 season, claiming the league should suspend players who didn’t stand when the song was played before games. When the NFL recently announced that players could stay in the locker room, Trump suggested that players who choose to go that route perhaps “shouldn’t be in the country.”

Members of Philadelphia’s championship team have called out Trump for lying, claiming their decision wasn’t based on statements he’s made about the NFL and the national anthem.

“Most players (and there were many players, many players...) that wanted to opt out had decided long b4 the anthem rule came down. It wasn’t discussed once in our meetings about the visit,” Eagles defensive end Chris Long said on Twitter.

Long was one of a few New England Patriots that decided not to visit the White House a year ago to celebrate the team’s Super Bowl LI victory.

Neither Torrey Smith nor Long refused to stand for the national anthem during the Eagles’ championship season. In fact, every Philadelphia player stood while the anthem played before each regular-season and playoff game en route to winning their first Super Bowl title in franchise history.