NFL champs disinvited from WH over anthem

The White House will be holding a celebration of the Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday — without the Eagles.

President Trump said in a statement Monday night that, since not all team members had committed to coming because of the continuing flap over the national anthem, he was yanking the invitation to all Eagles.

“The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow,” Trump said in the statement.

“They 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. The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better.”

The White House is still planning a celebration for Eagles fans, just without any members of the team.

“These fans are still invited to the White House to be part of a different type of ceremony — 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,” Trump added.

The cancellation came 20 hours before the team’s planned visit to the South Lawn. Fewer than 10 Eagles had committed to attending.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney mocked Trump’s decision, saying in a statement, “Disinviting them from the White House only proves that our President is not a true patriot, but a fragile egomaniac obsessed with crowd size.”

Kenney’s chief of staff, Jane Slusser, trolled Trump on Twitter by posting a picture of the Eagles’ crowded victory parade next to an image of the president’s 2017 inauguration: “Our party was bigger than yours.”

And Super Bowl-winning, former Eagles wide receiver Torrey Smith tweeted, “There are a lot of people on the team that have plenty of different views. It’s a cowardly act to cancel the celebration because the majority of the people don’t want to see you.”

The NFL announced last week that players on the field before games will be required to stand for the anthem or stay in the locker room.

But in a tweet Monday night, Trump wrote, “Staying in the Locker Room for the playing of our National Anthem is as disrespectful to our country as kneeling. Sorry!”

For what it’s worth, the Eagles were one of only seven NFL teams on which no one kneeled for the anthem last season.