There’s been a lot of speculation about whether or not the Philadelphia Eagles would accept an invite to the White House from United States President Donald Trump after winning Super Bowl LIX. However, NBA legend and current NBA broadcaster Charles Barkley seems to think they should.
Though Donald Trump formally invited the Eagles to the White House last week, the Eagles have not publicly indicated whether or not they would accept the invitation from the White House. But Charles Barkley seems frustrated that players would even consider boycotting a trip to the White House.
During the latest episode of The Steam Room podcast with co-host Ernie Johnson, Barkley absolutely blasted the possibility of teams or players opting out of a visit to the White House.
“I don’t care who the president is,” Barkley said via Brandon Contes of Awful Announcing. “He’s the President of the United States. It’s bothered me, the last 10 years, they’re like, ‘Well, I’m not going because this certain person is president.’ Dude, it’s the President of the United States.”
Barkley explained that he would agree to visit the White House and pay due respect to the president regardless of whether or not he agreed with him.
“Even though I disagree with President Trump on some things, if I met him, I would still give him the respect and dignity he deserves. We can disagree, but it bothers me when these teams don’t want to go to the White House. I’m just disappointed… We got so divided. Where did we get to as a country when we’re like, ‘We’re not going to the White House, we don’t like who’s in there.’ That’s just stupid.”
A report from The Daily Mail before the Super Bowl indicated that the Eagles planned to decline an invitation to the White House if they won the Super Bowl, though that report has since been refuted by other outlets after their Super Bowl LIX win.
If the Eagles do decide to decline the invitation, it would not be the first time the team failed to appear at the White House after winning the Super Bowl.
When the Eagles won the Super Bowl back in 2018, during Trump’s first term, Trump initially invited them to the White House to celebrate. However, several Eagles players said they would not attend the visit and meet Trump after his comments about those who knelt in protest of police brutality and racial injustice during the national anthem.
After it became clear that many players were refusing to visit the White House, Trump rescinded his invitation.
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