When the Eagles recently visited the White House, at least a dozen players [passed on the trip](https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/sports/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/philadelphia-eagles-jalen-hurts-aj-brown-devonta-smith-donald-trump-white-house/4171203/).
One player who stayed away was receiver A.J. Brown.
Meeting with reporters on Tuesday, Brown explained that his absence [had nothing to do with politics](https://x.com/Jeff_McLane/status/1924876840063099123), via Jeff McLane of the _Philadelphia Inquirer_. Brown said he had a “personal thing” to attend to.
Owner Jeffrey Lurie made it clear after the Super Bowl win that it’s a voluntary thing. Which didn’t realy need to be said; it’s never a mandatory exercise.
And plenty of players didn’t feel compelled to show up. Which is fine. They’re entitled to go, they’re entitled to stay away.
They can stay away for personal reasons. They can stay away for political reasons. They can stay away for any reason. They can stay away for no reason.
The reality for Brown and the Eagles is that there’s a pretty good chance they’ll be invited to go back against next year.
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