Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley has defended his decision to play golf with President Donald Trump amid considerable backlash across social media.
Barkley, fresh off a career year where he won his first Super Bowl title as well as landing Offensive Player of the Year honors, played a round with the President at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey on Sunday.
A day later on Monday, Trump hosted the Eagles at the White House to celebrate the triumph – where less than half the team showed up, with notable absentees including star quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receivers AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith.
Following the team’s first Super Bowl victory in 2018, the Eagles declined the invitation to Washington over Trump’s opposition to players kneeling during the National Anthem – a protest against police brutality towards minorities.
Barkley posted on X (formerly Twitter) to hit back at critics, writing: “Lol some people are really upset cause I played golfed and flew to the White House with the PRESIDENT.
“Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to understand.”
The running back, who led the league in rushing yards and recently signed a two-year, $41.2 million contract extension with Philadelphia, asked the public to ‘get out my mentions with all this politics’ – certainly a strange request after opening this can of worms himself.
Barkley took a ride with Trump on Air Force One and the President was full of praise for the 28-year-old: “He loved it. He’s a great young guy and an incredible football player. Saquon had a season for the ages, running behind the most powerful offensive line in the NFL.”
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters it was an “honor” to be able to go to the White House and expressed his excitement at the opportunity.
lol some people are really upset cause I played golfed and flew to the White House with the PRESIDENT. Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to understand. Just golfed with Obama not too long ago…and look forward to finishing my round with Trump ! Now ya get out my…
— Saquon Barkley (@saquon) April 28, 2025
Why didn’t Jalen Hurts attend the White House?
Last week when Hurts was asked whether he’d attend, he replied “umm” before looking around and staring into the camera lens before walking away.
Despite the quarterback’s disapproval of the presidency, Trump referred to the Super Bowl MVP as a “terrific guy and terrific player.”
Hurts and his teammates who skipped the visit cited ‘scheduling conflicts’ as reasons for their absences, according to a White House official.
