Despite the controversies of the past, the Philadelphia Eagles will visit Donald Trump at the White House. However, attendance is voluntary for the players.

So it has happened: the Super Bowl winners Philadelphia Eagles will visit Donald Trump at the White House.

After some controversy between Donald Trump and the NFL during his first term in office, rumors arose that the Eagles might forgo a meeting with Trump or might not be invited at all.

However, these were apparently not true.

Karoline Leavitt, the spokeswoman for the White House, now announced: “I know there was a lot of fake news about an invitation that wasn’t sent or sent. We want to correct that: we sent an invitation. They accepted enthusiastically, and we will see them here on April 28.”

Eagles owner: “It’s completely voluntary”

Team owner Jeffrey Lurie emphasized that it is ultimately up to each player whether they want to participate. “Our culture is built on the fact that things like this are voluntary,” Lurie said. “If you feel like being there, come along – we’ll have a great time. If not, that’s totally fine — it’s completely optional.”

He continued: ”We feel it’s an honor to be invited by the White House, it’s a tradition. There was no hesitation whatsoever. Being honored at the White House is a good thing. There were special circumstances in 2018 that were very different, so the decision this time was clear and we’re looking forward to it.”

The Eagles did not visit the White House after their victory in Super Bowl LII. Trump said at the time that he had withdrawn the invitation. The reason for this was that the team remained in the locker room during the national anthem during that season.

The protest against racism at the time divided the NFL because some felt it was disrespectful to the U.S. flag and national anthem.

The Eagles will be the second team to visit Trump at the White House this year. The Florida Panthers visited Trump last month to celebrate their Stanley Cup title from last season.

What would Lurie say to Eagles fans criticizing the team for supporting the current president? “This is purely and simply an invitation from the White House,” he said. “It’s nothing more than that. And we’re not politicizing it in any way. At least not on our part.”