The Eagles have been in contact with White House officials about a visit, a team spokesman said Monday. It is customary that Super Bowl-winning teams are honored by the president at the White House.
"We are honored to receive this invitation and view this not only as an opportunity to be recognized for our on-field accomplishments, but also as an opportunity to engage in productive dialogue with the leaders of our country," the team spokesman said.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told the New York Times that the White House has had "conversations with the Eagles about timing and are working with them to make it happen."
A few players from the 2017 Eagles already have said they would not visit the White House, including Malcolm Jenkins, Chris Long, and Torrey Smith. They were among the most active and engaged in social injustice reforms last season.
A potential visit would receive more scrutiny this year, especially after President Trump spoke out in September about NFL players who demonstrated during the national anthem.
"I don't want to take away from anybody's experience or make it a big distraction," Jenkins said in February. "It is a celebratory event. I want the guys who chose to go to enjoy that. ... Me personally, because it is not a meeting or a sit-down or anything like that, I'm just not interested in the photo op. ... Over the last two years, I have been meeting with legislators, both Republican and Democrat, don't matter _ if you want to meet to talk about advancing our communities, changing our country, I am all for that. But this isn't one of those meetings. So I'll opt out of the photo opportunity."
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie has supported his players in social activism. When he was asked last month whether the Eagles would visit the White House, he said the team had not had those discussions yet. Super Bowl-winning teams typically go to the White House during the offseason. The Patriots went in April 2015 and April 2017, the Broncos went in June 2016, and the Seahawks went in May 2014.
