Jalen Hurts and Teammates Finally Confirm Stance on Rejecting White House Visit as Donald Trump’s Office Clears Air on Eagles’ Refusal

Jalen Hurts and his teammates were still drenched in champagne-soaked euphoria and green-and-white confetti after their Super Bowl victory when a reporter put the Eagles’ QB on the spot. Jalen Hurts—still wearing his championship hat and T-shirt—was asked a question that had lingered even before kickoff: Would the Eagles visit the White House? Déjà vu, anyone?

Back in 2018, after their last Super Bowl win, the Eagles had declined an invitation to Donald Trump’s White House, a decision that sparked controversy. Even before this year’s game, team owner Jeffrey Lurie was asked about the possibility of visiting the President’s office. His response? “I just want to win Sunday.” And win, they did. But as soon as the confetti settled, the question resurfaced. Early reports suggested the Philadelphia outfit was not keen on a visit to the White House: “A source at the Eagles, who spoke anonymously, stressed that conversations about refusing a visit with President Donald Trump after beating the Kansas City Chiefs have already occurred.” The response from the Eagles according to the U.S Sun report was a “massive no.” But as it turns out the Eagles have not had the chance to decline a visit to the White House to begin with.

Guess what, the Trump’s office is yet to send an official invitation. A team source, in fact, went out on a limb to say on Monday, “We would be honored to visit the White House,” according to NFL reporter Albert Breer, adding, “It’s one of the things we had looked forward to doing and we look forward to receiving the invitation,” he posted on X. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport also confirmed the same via a tweet noting, “The #Eagles would be honored to visit The White House, team sources say after conversations today. It’s one of the aspects of winning they are excited about and look forward to receiving the invitation.” So, more than questions surrounding whether the Birds would visit 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, all interested parties, including right-wing political commentator Megyn Kelly who jumped the gun with a “GO F YOURSELVES EAGLES,” have a lot of rethinking to do. Come Monday, she sought to do some solid damage control.

She noted on X, “Update: WH denies that Eagles were asked and this news is from a 2/6 The Sun report about Eagles’ alleged plans if asked. Could be (hopefully?) fake news.”   This recent update will calm the situation that erupted when the rumors of the Eagles possibly declining a White House visit first surfaced.

The White House visit by a championship team generally happens in late spring or the summer and it remains to be seen when the Eagles give an official statement when an invitation is formally extended. There will be many people awaiting the decision, especially after what happened in 2018.

After a win over the Patriots in Super Bowl LII, the Eagles didn’t visit the White House. Several players like ​Safety ​Malcolm Jenkins, ​defensive end ​Chris Long, and ​receiver ​Torrey Smith said they wouldn’t visit at that time after Trump raised objections over players taking a knee during the national anthem. Trump issued a strong message for the Eagles.

“The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow. 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 in a statement at the time.

In the aftermath of many NFL players not standing up or taking a knee during the national anthem, the league approved a new policy that requires players to stand up if they are on the field during the anthem but gives them the option to remain in the locker room. The teams are subjected to a fine if a player or any other team personnel does not show respect for the anthem, which includes any attempt to sit or kneel.

While the Eagles players didn’t kneel or stay in the locker room during the national anthem during that season, Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod, raised their fists during the anthem.

Re: The @Eagles visiting the White House, a team source texted me, “We would be honored to visit the White House. It’s one of the things we had looked forward to doing and we look forward to receiving the invitation.”

(Reports or tweets or whatever earlier indicated otherwise.)

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) February 24, 2025

Eagles were not the only team to pull out from a visit to Washington during Trump’s first run in the office. 2017 NBA Champions, the Golden State Warriors, and the 2018 WNBA winners Seattle Storm also declined visits to the White House.

This year Trump also picked the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl over the Eagles and while he congratulated Mahomes and co. on winning the AFC Championship, he didn’t post any message for the Eagles on social media.  But it appears the relationship between Trump and the Eagles may have been repaired to some extent.

Will Trump host Hurts and the Birds?

As of February 24, no formal invite has been sent. But a White House official confirmed to POLITICO that talks are ongoing. Trump, who left Super Bowl LIX early, initially ignored the Eagles’ win, instead roasting Taylor Swift and kickoff rules on Truth Social. But by February 10, he conceded on The Mark Levin Show: “The Eagles were really, it was like flawless football, amazing.” Trump made headlines as he made his way to New Orleans to see the Eagles and saw firsthand what Hurts and his teammates were capable of.

There also appears to be a vote of confidence coming from Eagles’ offensive lineman Lane Johnson.  Johnson told Sportico that the decision on whether to visit the White House would be a team vote. “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,” Johnson said.

Though it is unclear whether Trump privately reached out to the Eagles to express his congratulations, his rare praise for them is a step in the right direction. Now, that the Eagles have reportedly made it clear that they will be going to the White House if invited, the ball lies in Trump’s court.