The Super Bowl defending champion Philadelphia Eagles took a trip to the White House to commemorate their hard-earned win against the Kansas City Chiefs without quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receivers DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown.
The team’s leader and MVP’s absence made waves and even earned some criticism, but a former Eagles Super Bowl champion lauded Hurts for his decision to skip the White House visit, whatever his reason.
Malcolm Jenkins Lauds Jalen Hurts’ Decision To Not Visit White House
Although the visit is not mandatory, Hurts’ absence meant something as the face of the franchise. Malcolm Jenkins, a part of the Eagles squad that won the Super Bowl in 2018, strongly believed it spoke volumes. For him, Hurts’ move was like a reply to the White House’s rescinded invitation in 2018.
“When my Eagles team won the Super Bowl in 2018, myself and other key players on the roster declined the invitation to visit the White House. In return, the invitation for the entire team was rescinded. We didn’t just face criticism—we were thrust into a cultural storm that had very little to do with football and everything to do with what we stood for,” Jenkins wrote in his blog, reminiscing about the ordeal.
The Eagles were disinvited from the White House in 2018, the last time they won the Super Bowl, after a number of players said they would drop out amid tensions over the anthem protests that had swept the NFL.
According to NBC’s White House correspondent, Yamiche Alcindor, Hurts and other players who couldn’t attend had “scheduling conflicts.”
“Today, Jalen Hurts finds himself standing at that same crossroads,” Jenkins continued.
Meanwhile, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley had spent the day before Philadelphia’s scheduled visit to the White House playing with Trump at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.
The pair was also spotted having a chat at a table next to a large stack of “Make America Great Again” hats after exiting Marine One at Morristown Municipal Airport. Barkley was present on Monday during the team’s visit.
Hurts Rumored To Be Spending Time With His New Bride
Not seeing Hurts in attendance led fans to believe he was off enjoying his honeymoon during the NFL offseason. Hurts married his longtime girlfriend and fiancée, Bry Burrows, this spring.
The couple hard-launched their relationship in 2023, but per Hurts’ confession, had been dating on and off since their college days at the University of Alabama.
They announced their engagement in September 2024. Hurts went down on one knee on a beach with a ring, surrounded by candles, a violinist, and red roses.
After the quarterback’s confession, rumors surfaced that Hurts was taking some time off to enjoy with his bride as a reason for his absence from the White House visit.
- Source: NEWHD MEDIA
