White House, Eagles stand their ground
U.S. President Donald Trump ratcheted up his feud with the National Football League, disinviting the Philadelphia Eagles from a celebration marking the team’s Super Bowl win after only a “tiny handful” of players agreed to attend, according to a White House statement.
Trump instead hosted what he billed as a “Celebration of America,” taking aim at NFL players who have taken a knee or sat on the bench while the national anthem is played in protest of police brutality and racism. No Eagles players engaged in such protests during the football season, according to a player on the team and media reports.
“I want to take this opportunity to explain why young Americans stand for our national anthem,” Trump said in a ceremony on the White House’s South Lawn, standing surrounded by uniformed members of the U.S. Army Chorus. “Maybe it’s about time that we understood: We stand to honour our military and to honour our country.”
Following Trump’s remarks, the chorus led the singing of God Bless America. Trump sang a few fragments of the song, mostly nodding his head to the music. Trump was on the stage only a few minutes.
Many professional athletes have made plain their antipathy toward Trump, and several have publicly accused Trump of racism, citing his equivocation over white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va., last year and other actions.
Malcolm Jenkins, a safety for the Eagles, released a statement on Twitter saying that the players are “fighting for racial and social equality,” and that no Eagles players knelt during the national anthem.
“Instead the decision was made to lie, and paint the picture that these players are anti-america, anti-flag and antimilitary,” Jenkins said. “We will continue to fight for impacted citizens and give a voice to those who never had one.”
Asked about the president’s decision to rescind the Eagles’ invitation, Cleveland Cavaliers basketball player Lebron James dismissed it as “typical of him,” in an interview with reporters ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Cleveland is playing the Golden State Warriors.
“I know regardless of who wins this series, no one wants an invite anyway,” James added, according to USA Today.
The Warriors didn’t visit the White House after winning the championship last year and instead went to the Smithsonian Museum of African-american History and Culture.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the Eagles contacted the White House late Friday to try to reschedule the event planned for Tuesday because “many players would not be in attendance.”
Trump is scheduled to be out of the country on the alternative dates the team proposed, she said in the statement.
Sanders blamed the players for the cancellation. Bloomberg