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Six Patriots taking pass on visit to White House.
• The New England Patriots recently won their fifth Super Bowl title. The number of New England players s aying they’ ll skip the traditional champions’ visit to the White House is now up to six and may get larger.
Defensive end Chris Long, running back LeGarrette Blount and defensive tackle Alan Branch added their names to the list Thursday, joining tight end Martellus Bennett, defensive back Devin McCourty and linebacker Dont’a Hightower as having publicly stated an intention not to accompany the team on its expected trip to Washington later this year. Some, but not all of the six players cited an antipathy to President Donald Trump as their reason.
Long was responding to a column by Chuck Modiano of the New York Daily News, one framed as an open letter that implored the longtime Ram and former Virginia star to “stand up” to Trump. “You are one of the only white NFL athletes who publicly seemed to ‘ get it’ after Colin Kaepernick took his national anthem stand,” Modiano wrote.
On his Twitter account, Long replied by saying, “Oh Chuck. Planned on skipping, hadn’t been asked. Don’t need an open letter explaining my own words to me. Not * joining* anyone. My call.”
Blount, who led the NFL with 18 rushing touchdowns this season, told NFL Network’s Rich Eisen, “I will not be going to the White House. It’s just some of the things that — I just don’t feel welcome in that house. I’m going to just leave it at that.”
Branch, interviewed on Sirius XM radio, offered a different reason for declining the meet- and- greet with the president. “I’m going to hang with family and continue to celebrate until next season starts,” he said.
For Hightower, it was a case of “been there, done that,” which were his words Wednesday on the topic. The linebacker had visited the White House twice as a member of Alabama’s BCS title- winning teams and he pointed out he had eschewed the trip in 2015 after the Patriots notched a Super Bowl victory over the Seahawks.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft is a longtime friend of Trump’s, as is quarterback Tom Brady. Both, along with coach Bill Belichick, have received words of effusive praise from the president.