Jalen Hurts will not join his Philadelphia Eagles teammates for Monday’s White House celebration with President Donald Trump. White House officials have attributed the star quarterback’s absence to “scheduling conflicts,” although he has remained silent about his decision.
Hurts led the Eagles to their second Super Bowl title in franchise history in February with a win over the Kansas City Chiefs. The dual-threat quarterback was named Super Bowl MVP.
The news broke on Monday, when Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Julia Terruso posted on social media that White House officials confirmed Hurts would miss the ceremony. The announcement came just hours before the team was scheduled to meet with Trump.
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“TWhite House confirms for me Hurts won’t attend today’s ceremony at the White House. Says he has a scheduling conflict. ‘The vast majority of the team is coming, and those who cannot attend had scheduling conflicts,’ person familiar says,” Terruso tweeted.
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The quarterback’s decision follows his noticeable silence when questioned about the visit during a TIME 100 gala appearance on Friday. When asked if he planned to attend the White House ceremony, Hurts responded with “Um,” before looking around and never answering as the interviewer moved on.
Team owner called White House visit “a time-honored tradition” despite Jalen Hurts’ “scheduling conflicts”
Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie previously expressed enthusiasm about the upcoming White House visit.
“When you grow up, and you hear about, ‘Oh, the championship team got to go to the White House,’ that’s what this is,” Lurie said on April 2, via CBS’ Jeff Skversky. “And, so, we didn’t have that opportunity, and now we do. I think we’re all looking forward to it,” Lurie said earlier this month.
The Eagles’ previous Super Bowl championship team didn’t visit the White House in 2018 after then-President Trump canceled the invitation. That decision came after several Philadelphia players hinted that they would skip the ceremony due to Trump’s criticism of national anthem protests.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni also voiced excitement about the visit.
“I’m really excited to go, yeah,” Sirianni said on April 2, via Yahoo Sports. “What an honor. What an honor to be able to go to the White House. Teams that have been able to win championships have been doing that for a long time, and I’m really honored to go and really excited to go.”
While Jalen Hurts will not go to the White House, Saquon Barkley has embraced the presidential connection. The star running back spent Sunday with Trump at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey. Barkley then traveled to Washington, D.C., aboard Air Force One.
While the White House hasn’t specified which other Philadelphia players will miss the ceremony, most of the team will participate in the 4 p.m. celebration on Monday.
Fox29 Philadelphia will broadcast the Eagles’ White House visit live on television, their website and streaming platforms for fans interested in watching it.
Edited by Victor Ramon Galvez