It has become a tradition for professional sports teams to visit the White House after winning the championship. But now that Trump is in office, players are thinking twice.
A lot of America was rooting for the Atlanta Falcons to win the Super Bowl. Not because they were fans, but because they didn’t want to New England Patriots to win. Not only have the Patriots been suspected of cheating while winning five Super Bowls since 2002, their team owner, head coach and quarterback have all shown support to President Donald Trump.
However, one Patriot is will be doing the most patriotic thing he can think of. Which is declining an invite to the White House.
Patriots’ tight end Martellus Bennett is one of the NFL’s most outspoke players, especially on social media. So reporters couldn’t wait to ask him if he was going to the White House if the team was invited. Here’s how he responded, according to Dallas Morning News reporter Brandon George.
In previous interviews, Bennett has directly stated that he would not go “Because I don’t support the guy in the house.”
With Patriots owner Robert Kraft being a supporter of Trump, Bennett was asked if he was worried about a conflict later. He responded saying, “I’m not really worried about that. I’m not worried about it at all.” He added that he and his teammates avoid talking politics in the locker room.
While it was once an honor to be invited to the White House after winning a championship, it has now become a decision. The Cleveland Cavaliers were the last professional sports team to be invited to the White House when Barack Obama was still President. When asked if he would go back if the opportunity presented itself while Trump was in office, Iman Shumpert said he wouldn’t and didn’t expect his teammates to either. LeBron James simply said, “I don’t know.”
Photo: Instagram
