The Eagles Are Headed To The White House After All

After President Donald Trump became the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl, where The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22, the Eagles have now accepted an invitation to the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl victory.

Earlier this week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the Philadelphia Eagles will indeed visit the White House on April 28, and that the invitation was “enthusiastically accepted.” This ends weeks of speculation to the contrary when online reports suggested on February 24 that the Super Bowl champions would refrain from attending any celebration hosted by President Trump. Later that same day, the White House issued a statement questioning the veracity of these reports, citing the fact that an invitation to the team had not even been presented at that time. Now, three weeks later, we have much more clarity on the matter, and a date on the schedule. 

And there’s good reason to question whether the team would actually accept the invitation. 

Back in 2018, during President Trump’s first term, the Eagles won their first Super Bowl in franchise history. Shortly after, many players began voicing their intentions to not attend any celebration organized by the White House, and that only a small group of players would accept a visit. This led White House officials to label Philadelphia’s decision a political stunt, and the invitation was revoked completely. Because of this history, the now-debunked claims that the franchise would reject an invite this year certainly seemed plausible. It’s worth noting, however, only four players remain from that 2018 team, so in many respects, this is an entirely different group.

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The Eagles were not the only championship team to cause a public stir during President Trump’s first term. Several dozen major sports teams won championships during those four years, many celebrated at the White House, many did not. Of those teams that didn’t visit Washington, not all did so in defiance. Some had scheduling conflicts, some were not invited to begin with for various reasons.

A few of the notable teams to attend were the New England Patriots, Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, the Clemson Tigers, and the Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama’s then-head coach Nick Saban made the trip a requirement, stating, “We’re doing this regardless of your political thoughts. We’re going, just to celebrate this team. It’s an honor. And just to be able to say that you’ve gone to the White House is something that you can cherish forever.’ So that was basically the extent of that.”

Of the teams to reject President Trump publicly, the 2017 Golden State Warriors were the most memorable. Coach Steve Kerr reportedly decided months before the playoffs that he would not visit the White House should the team win the NBA championship. Point guard Steph Curry later said he “wouldn’t go,” but said he wanted to talk to his teammates before making a final decision. Following Curry’s comments, the President posted on social media, “invitation is withdrawn!” LeBron James then famously called the President a “bum” for withdrawing an invite after Curry already said he wasn’t going.

Should the Eagles stay the course and follow through with their current plan to visit the White House, President Trump would be two-for-two on championship teams in his second term, as the 2024 Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers traveled to the White House in February.

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David Cone is a co-host and producer of the Daily Wire’s sports show Crain & Company, as well as a contributor to Morning Wire. David is also a former quarterback for the University of Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @davidadamcone