REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Several Philadelphia Eagles players have already said they will not take part in a visit to the Trump White House to celebrate their Super Bowl LII victory, including defensive end Chris Long, wide receiver Torrey Smith, and safety Malcolm Jenkins. Jenkins told CNN on Monday that he did “not anticipate attending that.” In interviews last week, Smith defended the National Football League players’ protests that President Trump has criticized for months. “They call it the anthem protest,” said Smith. “We’re not protesting the anthem. It’s a protest during the anthem.” Long, who also didn’t visit the White House when he was with the winning New England Patriots last year, confirmed he would be skipping out this time as well, telling the Pardon My Take podcast: “No, I’m not going to the White House. Are you kidding me?”