The Philadelphia Eagles have formally accepted an invitation from President Donald Trump to celebrate their recent Super Bowl victory at the White House.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing Tuesday that Trump will welcome the team to Washington on April 28. The Eagles trounced the Kansas City Chiefs, 40-22, to win Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans last month.
‘We sent an invitation. They enthusiastically accepted. And you will see them here on April 28,’ Leavitt said.
The invitation − and the Eagles’ decision to accept it − had been expected over the past few weeks, as both sides had publicly indicated their willingness to move forward with the ceremonial White House visit. The team signaled on Feb. 24 that it would accept an invitation from Trump, if it received one. And Trump said the next day that ‘absolutely they’ll be extended that invitation.’
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The Eagles’ ceremonial White House visit, which has long been a tradition for championship sports teams, had become a source of intrigue in large part because of the snafu between Trump and the Eagles after their previous Super Bowl win in 2018.
In the early part of his first term, Trump abruptly disinvited the Eagles on the eve of their planned visit following an NFL Network report that Philadelphia had planned to send a smaller contingent, of fewer than 10 players, to the ceremony. Then-White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders ripped the team at the time for what she said was an attempt to pull ‘a political stunt.’ The White House instead hosted a brief, awkward event the next day that it described as a celebration of America.
Trump has at times had a frosty relationship with the NFL and its players. During his first term, he repeatedly criticized players, sometimes in explicit terms, who kneeled during the national anthem to protest racial inequality. ‘Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners … say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out. He’s fired,’ he said at a 2017 rally.
Only one of the four teams that won a Super Bowl during Trump’s first term in office made a trip to the White House: The New England Patriots in 2017. NBA teams, whose players are also predominantly Black, either were not invited to visit the White House or declined to attend. And, in a departure from precedent, several championship teams in women’s sports did not receive invitations during Trump’s first term.
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @tomschad.bsky.social.