White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a lengthy statement Wednesday explaining why President Donald Trump canceled a celebration ceremony for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Trump canceled the planned Superbowl reception late Monday evening in an incendiary statement saying, “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.”
Sanders further explained that “on Thursday, May 31, the team notified the White House of 81 individuals, including players, coaches, management, and support personnel, who would attend the event. On Friday, the Secret Service cleared them for participation. These individuals, along with more than 1,000 Eagles fans, were scheduled to attend the event.”
“Late Friday, citing the fact that many players would not be in attendance, the team contacted the White House again, and attempted to reschedule the event,” she continued, adding, “The White House, despite sensing a lack of good faith, nonetheless attempted to work with the Eagles over the weekend to change the event format that could accommodate a smaller group of players.”
Sanders declared, “Unfortunately, the Eagles offered to send only a tiny handful of representatives, while making clear that the great majority of players would not attend the event, despite planning to be in D.C. today. In other words, the vast majority of the Eagles team decided to abandon their fans.”