This week, the Philadelphia Eagles were due to visit President Trump in the White House to celebrate their victory at this year’s Super Bowl.
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Quarterback Jalen Hurts quickly went viral after it was revealed that he’d be skipping the visit; he initially had an awkward response when asked about the visit at an event — and days later, a spokesperson claimed that the athlete wouldn’t be at the White House due to “scheduling conflicts.”
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But it turns out that it wasn’t just Jalen who didn’t attend, with NBC now releasing a full list of the Eagles players who opted not to go. Per the BBC, the White House invitation “was optional for players to attend.”
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A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Brandon Graham, Nolan Smith, Zack Baun, Nakobe Dean, C.J. Gardner Johnson, and Darius Slay Jr. were among the names of athletes who were not at the ceremony, the outlet reports.
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Reacting to this online, several fans applauded the athletes who skipped visiting Trump. “You dropped your crown, kings,” one person wrote. “Huge props to them for standing up for themselves and their beliefs! Go Eagles!” said another.
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“Men with real values and real integrity who won’t allow a white supremacist president to use them for attention and a photo opp,” one user said, while another person posted a GIF of Jennifer Lopez standing up and applauding.
Meanwhile, many fans couldn’t help but point out that the majority of players who reportedly skipped the visit were Black. “Not a single white player. Makes sense,” one person wrote. “So not one white teammate stayed back?” someone questioned.
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“Disappointing that none of their white teammates could stand on business in solidarity, but proud of them for taking a stand regardless,” one fan said, while another shared their disappointment that athlete Saquon Barkley — who is Black — did attend.
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Interestingly, this comes just as Saquon — who was seen at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey over the weekend — defended their relationship against criticism. He wrote on X, “lol some people are really upset cause I played golf and flew to the White House with the PRESIDENT,” he wrote. “Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to understand. Just golfed with Obama not too long ago…and look forward to finishing my round with Trump ! Now ya get out my mentions with all this politics and have an amazing day.”
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