Will Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles visit White House after President Trump canceled in 2018?

The Philadelphia Eagles would visit the White House if they’re invited following their Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs, league sources said on Monday night.

CBS News Philadelphia has reached out to the Eagles and the White House for comment on this story but has not yet heard back.

Rumors of the Eagles declining an invitation to the White House swirled on social media over the weekend after a weeks-old post from The Sun gained traction online.

With a 40-22 win in Super Bowl LIX, the Birds prevented the Chiefs from becoming the first team to win three straight Super Bowls.

The Super Bowl win is the Eagles’ second in seven seasons. They’ve won two of three Super Bowl appearances since 2018. Before Super Bowl LII in 2018, Philadelphia had only been to the big game twice, losing in 1980 and 2005. 

The last time the Eagles won the Super Bowl in 2018, President Trump canceled their visit over a national anthem dispute.

While President Trump became the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl, he has remained silent about the Eagles’ winning the game. Mr. Trump also didn’t congratulate the Birds after the NFC championship game.

Here’s what to know about the Birds potentially heading to the White House after winning the second Super Bowl in franchise history.

What happened after the Eagles won the Super Bowl in 2018?

After the Eagles won their first Super Bowl in 2018, Philadelphia did not visit the White House. Mr. Trump canceled the visit a day before over a national anthem dispute.

Mr. Trump said some members of the 2018 team “disagree with their president because he insists that they proudly stand for the national anthem, hand on heart.”

The president claimed the Eagles wanted to send a “smaller delegation” to the White House. Sources told CBS News Philadelphia that “less than a handful” of players signed up to meet with the president.

According to the White House, the Eagles informed them on May 31 that 81 people — players, coaches, management and personnel — would visit the executive mansion.

Former White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders accused the Eagles of pulling a “political stunt” by rescheduling the visit because many of the players wouldn’t attend. The White House claimed Mr. Trump would be overseas during the proposed dates.

In response to the cancellation of the White House visit, the Eagles released a statement without mentioning the president.

“It has been incredibly thrilling to celebrate our first Super Bowl championship. Watching the entire Eagles community come together has been an inspiration,” the Eagles’ statement read. “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.”

Moments after the White House canceled the event, former Eagles wide receiver Torrey Smith posted on social media, “So many lies.”

Several members of the 2018 Eagles, including Malcolm Jenkins, Chris Long, and Brandon Graham, previously said they would not attend the White House ceremony.

“To me, not going to the White House had nothing to do with the anthem. I said I wasn’t going to the White House a long time ago,” Long said in June 2018.

Jenkins, who helped create the Players Coalition to fight for racial and social equality, demonstrated by raising his fist during the national anthem. In a 2017 preseason game, Long put his arm around Jenkins during the anthem and said afterward, “I’m here to show support as a White athlete.”

In 2016, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem to raise awareness for racial injustice. In the years after, other NFL players joined by protesting during the anthem.

Were the Eagles the only championship team not to visit the Trump White House in his first term?

The 2018 Eagles are not the only championship team, professional or collegiate, to skip a visit to the White House during Mr. Trump’s first term as president.

In fact, the Eagles aren’t the only Philadelphia-area championship team not to go. The 2017-18 Villanova Wildcats didn’t visit the White House after former head coach Jay Wright said Mr. Trump did not invite the team.

While the Patriots went in 2017, several players skipped the visit, including Tom Brady for “personal reasons” and Devin McCourty, Martellus Bennett, Dont’a Hightower and former Eagles Chris Long and LeGarrette Blount for political differences.

In 2017, the NBA champion Golden State Warriors didn’t go to the White House. Mr. Trump rescinded the invitation after Warriors star Stephen Curry said he may not attend. The Warriors won the title the next year and were not invited.

After their WNBA championships, neither the 2017 Minnesota Lynx nor the 2018 Seattle Storm were invited by Mr. Trump to the White House.

Several college championship teams did not attend the White House during Mr. Trump’s first term, including the 2016-17 University of North Carolina men’s basketball team, 2016-17 South Carolina women’s basketball team, 2017-18 Notre Dame women’s basketball team and 2018-19 University of Virginia men’s basketball team.

The 2018-19 Baylor women’s basketball team became the first women’s team to visit the White House solo under Mr. Trump.

Which president started Super Bowl winner White House visits?

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter invited the Pittsburgh Steelers to the White House for a joint visit with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who had won the 1979 World Series.

The Steelers beat the Rams in Super Bowl XIV. The Pirates won the 1979 World Series in seven games over the Baltimore Orioles. The Steelers were the first Super Bowl-winning team to be invited to the White House.

During the visit, Carter held a Pirates hat and a Steelers “terrible towel.”

The history of the White House championship visits

Sports teams visiting the White House after winning a championship is a tradition now, but it dates back to the 19th century.

According to the White House Historical Association, President Andrew Johnson invited amateur baseball teams Brooklyn Atlantics and Washington Nationals on Aug. 30, 1865. Four years later, in 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant invited the first professional sports team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, to the White House.

In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge hosted the Washington Senators, the first MLB team invited to the White House, after the club won the World Series.

The first NBA team to visit the White House after winning a championship was the Celtics in 1963 when President John F. Kennedy hosted Boston.

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan invited the New York Islanders to the White House after the team won the Stanley Cup. The Islanders were the first NHL team to visit.

In:
• Donald Trump
• Philadelphia Eagles
• Philadelphia