On Wednesday, the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots visited the White House to be honored by President Donald J. Trump. The Patriots visit was the first by a sports champion to be honored by President Trump, although the Patriots have obviously visited the White House multiple times over the years.
While the majority of the Patriots organization attended, one member was visibly absent, none other than quarterback Tom Brady, who is a personal friend of Trump.
JUST IN: Tom Brady will not be attending the Patriots’ White House visit today, citing “personal family matters,” via @PeterAlexander pic.twitter.com/SLbx7G7s3m
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 19, 2017
Tom Brady has been friends with President Trump for years, and was even spotted with a “Make America Great Again” hat in his locker at Gillette Stadium:
In a statement, Brady thanked President Trump for hosting the Patriots at the White House and noted that “if we accomplish the goal of winning a championship in the future years, we will back on the South Lawn again soon.”
Here’s video of President Trump honoring the Patriots:
Although Brady’s absence from the ceremony had nothing to do with the president, several members of the Patriots declined to attend the White House event, citing their dislike for President Trump as their reason to skip the visit.
From CNN:
Several members of the Super Bowl-winning team — including defensive end Chris Long, running back LeGarrette Blount, defensive tackle Alan Branch, linebacker Dont’a Hightower, defensive back Devin McCourty and tight end Martellus Bennett — also have announced that they won’t be visiting the White House. Several players explicitly cited their opposition to Trump as their reason for not attending.
While Brady was unable to attend the ceremony, another Patriot, tight end Rob Gronkowski, certainly made a splash when he crashed White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s daily briefing, asking him “Sean, need any help?”
Here’s video of the hilarious moment:
What are your thoughts on those players, excluding Brady, who skipped the White House visit for political reasons? Is this legitimate? Share your thoughts below!