In the wake of rumors circulating about the Philadelphia Eagles interest in celebrating their Super Bowl with Donald Trump, Charles Barkley is urging championship teams to visit the White House, regardless of their political allegiances.
To be clear, the Eagles have not publicly stated whether they will or won’t go to the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl LIX win over the Kansas City Chiefs. But according to Barkley, they should go.
“I don’t care who the president is,” Barkley said on the latest episode of The Steam Room podcast with co-host Ernie Johnson. “He’s the President of the United States. It’s bothered me, the last 10 years, they’re like, ‘Well, I’m not going because this certain person is president.’ Dude, it’s the President of the United States.
“Even though I disagree with President Trump on some things, if I met him, I would still give him the respect and dignity he deserves. We can disagree, but it bothers me when these teams don’t want to go to the White House. I’m just disappointed…we got so divided. Where did we get to as a country when we’re like, ‘We’re not going to the White House, we don’t like who’s in there.’ That’s just stupid.”
Last week, an old report claiming the Eagles would decline a visit to the White House if they won Super Bowl LIX went viral. Other reports, however, have since disputed the rumor and claimed the Eagles would be honored to visit Trump, who issued a public invitation last week.
This would represent a stark contrast from 2018, when the Eagles won Super Bowl LII over the New England Patriots and were uninvited by Trump after he learned only a few players were willing to visit the White House.
Barkley went on a similar rant last year, blasting the Denver Nuggets for canceling their trip to the White House, even though the decision was prompted by a scheduling conflict, not a political statement. But according to Barkley, there are no excuses. Except for whatever excuse he gave in 1992, when Barkley skipped out on traveling to Washington D.C. after then-president George Bush invited American Olympic athletes to the White House to celebrate their performances in the Summer Games.