Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will be notably absent when his team visits the White House.
According to NBC News White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor, Hurts – along with several other players – won’t make the trip due to scheduling conflicts. The Eagles are set to arrive at the Oval Office on Monday to celebrate their Super Bowl LIX victory, during which they dominated the Kansas City Chiefs, 40-22. This visit comes seven years after their 2018 championship trip was called off by President Donald Trump due to controversy surrounding national anthem protests.
Jalen Hurts had seemed hesitant about attending the White House visit when questioned at the 2025 TIME100 gala in New York City last week. Asked about his plans, Hurts stalled with an “Um” before the conversation was abruptly ended.
Interestingly, Hurts’ absence comes just a day after teammate Saquon Barkley was seen spending time with Trump at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf course. Barkley was pictured alongside the President exiting Marine One at Morristown Municipal Airport before joining him at Trump National golf club, where a stack of “Make America Great Again” hats was visible.
The collection of photographs stirred intense reactions on the web, as some lambasted Barkley for his interactions with Trump. In response to the vitriol hurled at him, the 28 year old wrote: “lol some people are really upset cause I played golfed and flew to the White House with the PRESIDENT.
“Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to understand. Just golfed with Obama not too long ago…and look forward to finishing my round with Trump! Now ya get out my mentions with all this politics and have amazing day.”
On April 1, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie put it plainly that attending the Oval Office was a choice for players. “Our culture is that these are optional things,” he told reporters. “If you want to enjoy this, come along and we’ll have a great time and if you don’t, it is totally an optional thing.”
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Explaining the decision to accept Trump’s White House invitation, Lurie stated: “We just felt this is a time honored tradition being invited by the White House. So there was no reticence whatsoever. To be celebrated at the White House is a good thing.”
Following the Eagles’ triumph over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, their subsequent White House visit was nixed after Trump discovered not all team members intended to show up. “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,” he declared at the time.
“The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better.”
