The Philadelphia Eagles will no longer celebrate their Super Bowl LII win at the White House Tuesday after President Donald Trump rescinded the invitation.
In a statement released Monday, Trump said the number of Eagles planning on attending the ceremony was unacceptable.
"The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow," Trump said in part in a statement Monday. "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. The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better."
Trump’s statement went on saying the White House would still hold a ceremony on Tuesday for fans interested in attending where the national anthem will play “loudly and proudly” and service men and women will be honored.
Trump also tweeted about the White House’s decision to rescind the Eagles’ invitation on Twitter writing, “The Philadelphia Eagles Football Team was invited to the White House. Unfortunately, only a small number of players decided to come, and we canceled the event.”
After the statement was released, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported less than 10 Eagles players planned to attend the traditional White House ceremony Tuesday after Eagles coach Doug Pederson said the team would leave the decision to attend the ceremony up to individual players in May.
Eagles safety Malcom Jenkins, defensive end Chris Long and wide receiver Torrey Smith were three of the Eagles players who announced they would not attend the White House ceremony if invited after February's Super Bowl.
The Eagles responded to the White House decision Monday night in a brief statement.
“It has been incredibly feeling to celebrate our first Super Bowl championship,” the statement read. “Watching the entire Eagles community come together has been an inspiration. We are truly grateful for all the support we have received and are looking forward to continuing our preparations for the 2018 season.”
