The Philadelphia Eagles, like any professional sports team that wins a World Championship, were invited to the White House to celebrate their accomplishment. As a team with vocal players like Malcolm Jenkins and Chris Long, it came as no surprise that many of them chose not to attend the event, scheduled for today. When President Trump was made aware of the low team attendance that was expected, despite the fact that several Eagles publicly stating that they wouldn’t attend shortly after winning the Super Bowl, he “rescinded” his invitation citing the Eagles’ dislike of the NFL’s new national anthem policy.
Related: Anthem Penalties: We Are Who We Thought They Were
In the White House statement, Trump again associated standing for the national anthem with patriotism and respect for the military. It is unclear whether he is just too narrow-minded to understand the full depth of the issue, or if he just doesn’t care and sees this matter as a win for his base. Either way, he conveniently ignores why the players were kneeling during the national anthem last season, which was in protest to social injustice and police brutality (not to mention that the Eagles’ players did stand for the anthem every game last season). While Trump likes to argue that these men do not care about their country, a strong argument could be made that they actually care more about their country than he does because they recognize injustice and are actively working to address it and make positive changes.
Trump has made it clear that he does not have the ability to understand things past their face value. The Eagles decision not to attend, prior to being “uninvited,” is a sign that they’re doing something right as a group, which has proven to be active in combating social injustice in America. I hope to see them continue to speak up and support causes they believe in, regardless of the bullying tactics that Trump uses to discourage positive discourse.
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