The Philadelphia Eagles plan to celebrate their recent Super Bowl victory at the White House if they are invited to do so by President Donald Trump, a person with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed to USA TODAY Sports on Monday.
The person requested anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly disclose the team’s decision. CNN, ESPN and NFL Network first reported the news Monday evening.
Though the reigning Super Bowl champions intend to accept the customary invitation to visit the White House, it remains unclear whether such an invitation will be extended by Trump, who abruptly disinvited the Eagles on the eve of their planned trip in 2018. The White House press office did not immediately reply to a message Monday night.
The Eagles’ possible White House visit has been a source of intrigue since they crushed the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this month, given Philadelphia’s past history with Trump and the ways in which the tradition changed more broadly during Trump’s first term.
While championship teams in major professional and college sports leagues have visited the White House for decades, the traditional visits became more sporadic − and controversial − under Trump, in part because of public criticism he levied against specific leagues and groups of athletes. NBA teams, whose players are predominantly Black, either were not invited to visit the White House or declined to attend during Trump’s first term. And, in a departure from recent precedent, several championship teams in women’s sports did not receive invitations.
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For NFL teams, the visits became especially fraught after Trump repeatedly blasted the league and players who kneeled during the national anthem to protest racial inequality. Only one of the four teams that won a Super Bowl during Trump’s first term in office made a trip to the White House (the New England Patriots, in 2017).
The Eagles were slated to visit with Trump in 2018 until the White House stunningly withdrew its invitation on the eve of the scheduled ceremony. NFL Network reported at the time that Philadelphia had planned to send a contingent of fewer than 10 players to the ceremony, and then-White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders publicly accused the team of trying to pull ‘a political stunt.’ The White House instead hosted a brief, awkward event the next day that it described as a celebration of America.
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @tomschad.bsky.social.