Traditionally, successful US sports teams are invited to the White House after major victories. When asked whether the Seattle Seahawks would accept such an invitation, coach Mike Macdonald reported that the Super Bowl winners had not yet been invited.

In recent days, speculation had arisen that the Seattle Seahawks would decline the traditional trip to the White House for Super Bowl winners. However, in an interview on the sidelines of the Scouting Combine, head coach Mike Macdonald clarified: “We haven’t received an invitation yet. We’ll comment on it after we do.”

However, he hopes to receive an offer. “We’ll get an invitation, right? Is that how it works? I’m not quite sure how it actually works,” the 38-year-old explained after the press conference. According to the Tacoma News Tribune, the team would “most likely” accept an invitation.

After the Olympics: Hockey scandal at the White House

The debate about victory ceremonies at the president’s residence has heated up in recent days: The US women’s ice hockey team won gold at the Winter Olympics, as did the men’s team. However, they declined US President Donald Trump’s invitation to the White House, officially due to scheduling conflicts. Previously, however, the head of state had mocked the female players after the men’s team won gold. The male US ice hockey stars accepted the invitation to Washington, but received a lot of criticism online for doing so. ” I am so disappointed in our men’s team. This dramatically tarnishes the gold medal,” wrote one user on Instagram.

Trump boycott during his first term in office

Between 2017 and 2020, during Trump’s first term in office, several Super Bowl winners boycotted visits to the White House . In 2017, several New England Patriots players refused to travel to Washington, in 2018 Trump withdrew the invitation to the Philadelphia Eagles for fear of a boycott, and in 2019 a large number of Patriots players were again absent.

In April 2025, twelve Eagles players also declined to meet with the US president. It is likely that if the Seahawks accept a possible offer from Trump, some players will decide against making the trip.