Trump withdraws White House invitation to Eagles

WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump cancelled the planned visit today of the Super Bowl champion the Philadelphia Eagles to the White House, saying he disinvited the team after it disagreed with his call for players to stand for the national anthem.

Trump said in a statement yesterday the Eagles, who defeated the New England Patriots in the NFL’s Super Bowl in February, wanted to send a smaller delegation but he declined.

‘‘They disagree with their president because he insists that they proudly stand for the national anthem, hand on heart, in honour of the great men and women of our military and the people of our country,’’ Trump said.

Last season, some National Football League players took a knee during the anthem to protest police shootings of unarmed black men, sparking a controversy.

The protests began in 2016 with former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Trump denounced the players as unpatriotic and repeatedly demanded an end to such protests.

In his statement, Trump said the Eagles wanted to a send a smaller delegation, ‘‘but the 1000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better’’.

The Eagles did not immedi ately respond to a request for comment.

Torrey Smith, who played as a wide receiver for the Eagles in the Super Bowl but has since been traded, responded on Twitter to Trump, saying that there were ‘‘so many lies’’.

‘‘Not many people were going to go,’’ Smith said, and ‘‘noone refused to go simply because Trump insists folks stand for the anthem.’’

Trump ‘‘continues to spread the false narrative that players are antimilitary,’’ he said.

Democratic US Senator Bob Casey, of Pennsylvania, invited the team to visit the Capitol Building and called Trump’s action ‘‘a political stunt’’. — Reuters