At least a half-dozen New England Patriots players plan on skipping the team’s upcoming Super Bowl LI celebration at the White House. Quarterback Tom Brady is not among them, but he respects their decision.
Brady, a longtime friend of President Donald Trump, said Tuesday on “PFT Live” he has no problem with teammates choosing not to attend the ceremony, whatever their reasoning might be. Brady, of course, sat out the Patriots’ last White House visit in 2015, though he said his no-show was not politically motivated.
“Everybody has their own choice,” Brady said, via ProFootballTalk. “There’s certain years, like a couple years ago, I wanted to go and didn’t get the opportunity based on the schedule — we didn’t get told until I think like 10 days before we were going, and at that point I had something I’d been planning for months and couldn’t get there.”
This will be Brady’s fifth visit to the White House. He traveled there following each of New England’s first three Super Bowl victories and also did so after Michigan won the 1997 national championship.
“It really is a great experience,” Brady said. “Putting politics aside, it never was a political thing. At least, it never was to me. It meant you won a championship and you got to experience something cool with your team, with your teammates. Everyone has their own choice. It’s an offseason. These days are valuable for everybody. You only get so much time with your family and friends, and if people don’t want to go, they don’t want to go, and that’s their choice.”
Tight end Martellus Bennett, safety Devin McCourty, linebacker Dont’a Hightower, running back LeGarrette Blount, defensive end Chris Long and defensive tackle Alan Branch all have announced they will not join the Patriots on their White House trip, which typically takes place a few months after the Super Bowl. Running back James White said he’s considering skipping the visit, as well.
Thumbnail photo via Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports Images
