Two Patriots join long list of champion athletes to skip White House visit
A second member of the New England Patriots announced that he won’t be attending the traditional White House celebration for the Super Bowl champions.
Defensive back Devin McCourty told Time that he will not attend the traditional White House visit with President Donald Trump.
“Basic reason for me is I don’t feel accepted in the White House,” McCourty told Time in a text message. “With the president having so many strong opinions and prejudices I believe certain people might feel accepted there while others won’t.”
Patriots’ tight end Martellus Bennett said he wouldn’t attend after the team’s 34-28 overtime victory against the Atlanta Falcons in Sunday’s Super Bowl. Both Bennett and McCourty are African-American.
Trump is friends with several prominent Patriots, including owner Robert Kraft, coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, and picked New England to win the Super Bowl. Bennett said he is not worried about his decision affecting his relationship with the team.
Some Trump supporters saw some similarities between the Patriots’ come-from-behind victory and Trump’s shocking victory over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.
A number of athletes have skipped the White House visit for a variety of reasons, including politics. Basketball superstar Michael Jordan skipped a trip in 1991, saying he wanted to spent time with his family instead.
Brady himself did not attend the Patriots’ last celebration at the White House, perhaps because of criticism over the Deflategate scandal.
Chicago Cubs pitchers Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester did not visit the White House in January after the Cubs’ World Series victory. Arrieta cited family illnesses. Lester said his decision had nothing to do with politics and instead was about a death in the family.
For those of you so quick to jump to conclusions, we had a death in the family and the funeral was yesterday. Absolutely nothing political.
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) January 17, 2017
Boston Bruins’ goalie Tim Thomas did not visit the Obama White House after the Bruins won the 2011 Stanley Cup, citing his disagreements with the administration.
“I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People,” Thomas wrote in a statement at the time. “Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen and did not visit the White House.”
Baltimore Ravens’ center Matt Birk skipped the trip because of Obama’s support for Planned Parenthood. “I am Catholic. I am active in the pro-life movement, and I just felt I couldn’t deal with that. I couldn’t endorse that in any way,” Birk said.
This story was originally published February 7, 2017 at 3:46 PM with the headline "Two Patriots join long list of champion athletes to skip White House visit."