The Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles celebrated their win at the White House on Monday—without their star quarterback.
Jalen Hurts and a number of his other teammates skipped the ceremony, Front Office Sports confirmed. NBC News first reported Hurts’s planned absence. The White House said the players had “scheduling conflicts.” Hurts previously dodged a question about whether he would attend the ceremony at the Time100 event last week.
Hurts was far from the only member of the team missing from the ceremony. It appeared that dozens of Eagles were absent, including star receivers A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and much of the defense.
During his speech congratulating the championship squad, President Donald Trump mentioned his attendance at the Super Bowl, which was the first for a sitting U.S. president. He mentioned superstar Taylor Swift for also being at the game and showed support for the Eagles’ infamous tush push, saying he hopes “they keep that play.” (NFL owners have been debating whether the play should be allowed.)
Hurts’s teammate, running back Saquon Barkley, drew heat this week for golfing with the president. Barkley also golfed with former president Barack Obama last year with Hurts and owner Jeffrey Lurie. “Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to understand,” Barkley posted on social media Monday in response to angry Eagles fans.
At the ceremony, Trump called Barkley “a handsome guy,” and took a dig at Barkley’s old team for letting him walk in free agency.
“I was with the Giants and the head coach and some people and I said, ‘Do anything you have to, but don’t lose Saquon.’” Trump said. “They lost Saquon. That was not good. I called that one. That was an easy one to call because he played damn well for the Giants, I can tell you that.”
The White House canceled the team’s visit in 2018 during Trump’s first term in office after most players said they wouldn’t go. Many of the players were upset with Trump over his criticism of kneeling during the national anthem, and Lurie reportedly called the presidency “disastrous” behind closed doors. The Golden State Warriors also had their invite rescinded by the Trump White House in 2017 after Stephen Curry and others said they wouldn’t attend.
All of this raised questions about whether the Eagles would again skip the trip to Washington, but the organization soon made it clear they would attend, saying in the weeks after the Super Bowl they “look forward” to receiving their invitation. Lurie said at the NFL owners meeting at the beginning of April that the trip would be “optional” for players and coaches. Lurie did attend Monday’s ceremony.
Other championship winners including the Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Ohio State football team have all gone to the White House in recent months. Even Dodgers star Mookie Betts—who had skipped a Trump White House visit after winning a title with the Red Sox—attended, making Hurts by far the most notable athlete to skip a White House visit in Trump’s second term.
The Eagles are set to appear at the White House later on Monday afternoon. Hurts was still in college when the Eagles’ 2018 visit was canceled. Only four Eagles were on both Super Bowl-winning teams: tackle Lane Johnson, defensive lineman Brandon Graham, kicker Jake Elliott, and long snapper Rick Lovato.
Johnson was there on Monday, as were head coach Nick Sirianni and general manager Howie Roseman.
This developing news story has been updated.
