Anthem without Eagles
Told most players no-shows, he holds ‘America’ observance
President Donald Trump joins in singing the national anthem Tuesday during a brief “Celebration of America” on the South Lawn of the White House. The event replaced a visit by the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles that Trump canceled after few of the team members indicated they would attend. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders accused the team of “a political stunt.”
WASHINGTON — Taking on the NFL and football’s Super Bowl champs, President Donald Trump canceled a White House ceremony for the Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday and instead threw his own brief “Celebration of America” after it became clear that most of the players weren’t going to show up.
Both sides traded accusations about who was to blame for the cancellation.
The White House accused Eagles team members of pulling a “political stunt” and abandoning their fans by backing out at the last minute. Indeed, few apparently were going to go to the event, though some expressed disappointment that they’d been disinvited and complained that Trump was unfairly painting them as anti-American.
Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, who had planned to skip the ceremony “to avoid being used as any kind of pawn,” said in a statement that at the White House a “decision was made to lie, and paint the picture that these players are anti-America, anti-flag and anti-military.”
White House spokesman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the team notified the White House last Thursday that 81 people, including players, coaches, managers and others would be attending the Super Bowl celebration. But she said the team got back in touch late Friday and tried to reschedule, “citing the fact that many players would not be in attendance.” The Eagles proposed a time when Trump would be overseas.
Eagles officials declined to comment on the White House version of events, sticking with a simple earlier statement: “We are truly grateful for all of the support we have received and we are looking forward to continuing our preparations for the 2018 season.”
No one connected with the team said the players’ reluctance to attend had anything to do with the national anthem, as Trump tried to portray the situation.
Besides the fact that none of the Eagles had taken a knee during the anthem-playing in 2017, defensive end Chris Long said the NFL anthem policy change and Trump’s reaction to it were not even discussed by the players in meetings about making the visit. Several players have, however, been vocal critics of the league’s new policy that requires players to stand if they’re on the field during the national anthem or stay in the locker room.
The president instead held what he dubbed a “patriotic celebration” that was short and spare. A military band and chorus delivered the “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America,” with brief Trump remarks sandwiched in between.
“We love our country, we respect our flag and we always proudly stand for the national anthem,” Trump said.
Trump made clear Tuesday that he doesn’t believe the NFL’s new policy goes far enough, tweeting: “Staying in the Locker Room for the playing of our National Anthem is as disrespectful to our country as kneeling. Sorry!”
Eagles tight end Zach Ertz called out Fox News on Tuesday for using photos of players kneeling in pregame prayer during a segment about the team’s canceled visit, calling it “propaganda.” The network later apologized for showing the footage, which was unrelated to the NFL’s national anthem demonstrations, during its report on the rescinded visit.
Ertz and his teammates were shown kneeling in several photos during the Fox News segment, but Ertz said the players were kneeling in prayer, not to raise awareness of social injustice and police brutality issues, as other players have done.
Ertz spotted the photos in the Fox report, tweeting Tuesday morning, “This can’t be serious… . Praying before games with my teammates, well before the anthem, is being used for your propaganda?! Just sad. I feel like you guys should have to be better than this.” By midmorning, the network had apologized for the report on Fox News at Night with Shannon Bream.
“During our report about President Trump canceling the Philadelphia Eagles’ trip to the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl win, we showed unrelated footage of players kneeling in prayer,” Christopher Wallace, executive producer of the show, said in a statement sent to The Washington Post. “To clarify, no members of the team knelt in protest during the national anthem through the regular or postseason last year. We apologize for the error.”
Information for this article was contributed by Jill Colvin, Jonathan Lemire, Darlene Superville, Catherine Lucey, Errin Haines Whack and Rob Maaddi of The Associated Press; and by Cindy Boren of The Washington Post.
No one connected with the team said the players’ reluctance to attend had anything to do with the national anthem, as Trump tried to portray the situation.