White House accuses Philadelphia Eagles of pulling ‘political stunt’ after half planned to boycott event
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Your support makes all the difference.Sarah Huckabee Sanders has called the Philadelphia Eagles not coming to the White House a "political stunt".
The White House press secretary said at a news conference “if this wasn’t a political stunt by the Eagles franchise, then they wouldn’t have planned to attend the event and then backed out at the last minute". President Donald Trump had rescinded his invitation to the team to celebrate their Super Bowl victory earlier this year because "only a small number of players decided to come," he said on Twitter.
Ms Sanders said the team said it would send “only a tiny handful of representatives” to the White House, “while making clear that the great majority of players would not attend". The team had originally confirmed 81 players, coaches, and staff would attend but then attempted to reschedule the event to a time when the president would be out of the country. The president then disinvited the team.
Mr Trump also commented on the NFL in his tweet. The league last month ruled it would require players to stand during the playing of the national anthem ahead of all games. It gave the players the option to stay in locker rooms during the "Star Spangled Banner" as well, but Mr Trump tweeted that "staying in the Locker Room for the playing of our National Anthem is as disrespectful to our country as kneeling. Sorry!"
Taking a knee during the anthem began with former San Francisco 49ers player Colin Kaepernick, who did it as a peaceful protest against police violence in the US and the slew of police-involved shooting deaths of young black men and boys all over the country. Mr Trump has routinely criticised NFL players who kneeled during the playing of national anthems ahead of games, even calling them “sons of b******” at one point.
Critics have said it is unpatriotic and affront to the flag and US military. Supporters, including several military veterans, have said the wave of athletes joining the protest is a signal of a real issue with racism in the country, particularly since Mr Trump came into office.
Instead of hosting the team - as it has with other championship teams like the NFL's New England Patriots, and university teams like University of Alabama and Clemson University - the White House hosted a "Celebration of America" event with military bands and a chorus performing.
During the event Mr Trump said "We love our country. We respect our flag. And we always proudly stand for the National Anthem...We stand to honour our military and to honour our country, and to remember the fallen heroes who never made it back home. We stand to show our love for our fellow citizens and our magnificent Constitution. We stand to pay tribute to the incredible Americans who came before us and the heroic sacrifices they made". He then spoke about the economy and unemployment rates.
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