The Philadelphia Eagles will not be attending a ceremony at the White House to honor their February Super Bowl victory, according to a statement by President Donald Trump.
The statement says that the defending Super Bowl champions 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.”
Instead of the event honoring the Eagles, the White House will host “A Celebration of America.”
The president’s statement said that the ceremony will be “one that will honor our great country, pay tribute to the heroes who fight to protect it, and loudly and proudly play the National Anthem.”
A large group of Eagles players had decided not to attend, including most — if not all — of the black players, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
In addressing players’ decision to stay home, the president’s statement said “the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better.”
On Monday evening, the Eagles released a statement making no reference to the canceled ceremony, which 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.”
The team did not learn of the cancellation until the White House put out its statement, a source close to the Eagles told ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio.
The source said that team owner Jeffrey Lurie was planning on attending the White House ceremony, despite some of the negative comments Lurie reportedly made about Trump in a private NFL meeting last fall. Head coach Doug Pederson and his wife, Jeannie, were also planning on making the trip, the source said.
“A lot of people in the Eagles organization are very disappointed with the presidents decision, ” said the source
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