Black Patriots Players Say No to a White House Visit

Right after the 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, New England Patriots safety Duron Harmon was asked if he’d visit the White House.

“Nah, man, they don’t want me in the White House,” he said.


On Monday, two more New England Patriots players, twin brothers Devin and Jason McCourty, shunned the idea.

Devin, who in the previous Super Bowl win in 2017 skipped the White House visit, said: “I don’t feel accepted in the White House . . . With the president having so many strong opinions and prejudices, I believe certain people might feel accepted there while others won’t.”

That year, Tom Brady, a friend of the president, didn’t go because of “family related reasons.” His wife, Gisele, had previously spoken out against Trump. The couple agreed not to discuss politics with each other, given their differences.

Jason McCourty, after saying, “I haven’t thought about it, but I highly doubt it,” was teased by his brother. He then admitted there was “virtually zero chance he would go.”

NBA players in the past have opted to visit Obama instead, and Harmon thought that was a great idea.

“That would be dope,” Harmon said, adding, “Hey, Obama, come holler at me. We love you over here, man.”

Last year’s NFL Champs, the Philadelphia Eagles, showed no interest in going to the White House, and Trump rescinded the offer.

“They disagree with their president because he insists that they proudly stand for the national anthem, hand on heart, in honor of the great men and women of our military and the people of our country,” Trump said.

Trump directly attacked Black players for kneeling during the national anthem and practically killed Colin Kaepernick’s career with his comments in 2017: “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, get that (expletive) off the field right now.”

The NFL owners and head coaches initially agreed to fine players who kneeled on the field, asking anyone who wanted to kneel to instead stay in the locker room, but the NFL Players Association filed a grievance, which resulted in a suspension of the enforcement of the policy. Players said the rule was an infringement on their rights.

But despite Trump’s involvement in the destruction of lives of people who look like 70 percent Black population of NFL players, who don’t feel welcome in the White House, he maintains that people love coming there.

On Super Bowl Sunday, Trump was confident the Patriots would win, and called Tom Brady the GOAT. He said, “the Patriots were here two years ago, and I’m sure they’ll be back.”

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