Did Eagles turn down White House invite from President Donald Trump? NFL insider sheds light on franchise's Washington visit

Since the Philadelphia Eagles's Super Bowl 59 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, concerns have risen about whether the team would visit the White House to meet President Donald Trump.

Offensive lineman Lane Johnson was asked whether the team would partake in the annual tradition. He responded:

“I’d be honored to go, regardless of who the president is, but we’ll see. It’s ultimately a team decision. I’ll do what’s best for the team.”

However, per The Sun, the team had voted on the matter before the Super Bowl and decided to skip the trip to Washington, D.C. The report said:

"A well-placed insider told The U.S. Sun that recent discussions between the players and the Eagles front office resulted in a 'massive no' when asked if they would accept an invitation to the nation's capital... A current player echoed those sentiments, claiming that 'pretty much everyone' decided they would refuse to meet the President."

But it turns out that the report was inaccurate. NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported on X that the team and players look forward to celebrating their win at the White House. He wrote:

"The #Eagles would be honored to visit The White House, team sources say. It’s one of the aspects of winning they are excited about and look forward to receiving the invitation."

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Eagles White House visit in 2018: President Donald Trump disinvited the team

Following their Super Bowl 52 win over the New England Patriots, President Trump invited the Eagles to the White House to celebrate the victory. However, many players declined the invitation. They were upset about President Trump's remarks about players kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality.

Eventually, only a few players were keen to visit the White House, so President Trump canceled the event. He also chastised the Eagles stars in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that read:

"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. Staying in the Locker Room for the playing of our National Anthem is as disrespectful to our country as kneeling. Sorry!"

The Eagles were the first NFL team to skip the annual tradition. However, they reportedly don't intend to become the first franchise to decline an invite to the White House twice.