PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Philadelphia Eagles have officially accepted an invitation from the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl victory in Washington D.C., according to multiple media reports.
The news comes following false rumors that the Birds had rejected an invitation, and amid ongoing speculation about how the politics of players and animus between the 2018 team and President Trump might influence the situation.
A White House official told multiple news outlets, including USA Today and CNN, that the team "enthusiastically" accepted the invitation.
See previous coverage: Are The Eagles Going To The White House After Super Bowl Win?
Rapidly spreading rumors several weeks ago, amplified by sources as highly placed as former NSA advisor General Mike Flynn and political commentator Megyn Kelly, vilified the Eagles for supposedly rejecting the invitation. It turned out that not only had the Eagles not said no — but that they had planned on saying yes to the invite all along.
The notion of a White House visit, usually offered to champions of America's major sports leagues, was once a nonpartisan, noncontroversial tradition. But in the age of the Internet and culture wars, the long thinning line between the political and sports arenas has all but evaporated, and the Eagles decision was bound to roil controversy regardless of what they chose.
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