Unlike seven years ago, the Philadelphia Eagles will be received by US President Donald Trump at the White House to mark their Super Bowl triumph. This was announced by Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday, and a spokesman for the NFL franchise also confirmed that the invitation had been accepted.

“I know there has been a lot of fake news about an invitation that wasn’t sent or was sent. We would like to correct the protocol: we sent an invitation, they accepted it enthusiastically, and you will see them here on April 28,” Leavitt said.

In 2018, after the Eagles’ first Super Bowl victory against the New England Patriots, Trump canceled the traditional visit by the winning team the day before the scheduled date during his first term in office. It had previously become known that only a small number of players wanted to attend.

Some Eagles professionals were at the time at the center of a movement initiated by players against social injustice, among other things. In 2016, quarterback Colin Kaepernick, then playing for the San Francisco 49ers, became the first NFL player to kneel during the playing of the US national anthem to protest against police violence and racial discrimination in the country. Many other players followed Kaepernick’s example, and US President Trump strongly condemned the protests.