The Philadelphia Eagles have officially accepted an invitation to visit the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl LIX win, a team spokesperson confirmed to CNN on Tuesday.
The spokesperson added that the team is now “working on scheduling a date and logistics” surrounding the visit to Washington, DC.
Later on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the visit would happen on April 28.
“I can confirm that the Philadelphia Eagles will be here at the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl victory,” she said at the daily briefing. “I know there was a lot of fake news about an invitation that wasn’t sent or was sent. We want to correct the record – we sent an invitation they enthusiastically accepted and you will see them here on April 28.”
The announcement comes weeks after CNN reported that the Eagles “would be honored” to visit the White House following social media speculation that the team would refuse the traditional visit. At that time, an invitation had not been extended to the team.
The Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans last month in a blowout 40-22 win, claiming the franchise’s second Super Bowl.
When the team won its first championship in 2018, the Eagles decided not to celebrate the victory with President Donald Trump, who was in his first term in office at the time.
The decision sparked a storm of criticism from Trump, who falsely accused the Eagles of taking a knee during “The Star-Spangled Banner” that year and disrespecting the National Anthem in other ways before uninviting the whole team.
The previous year, the Golden State Warriors chose not to visit Trump in the White House after winning the 2016-17 NBA championship, with Trump also saying on social media that the invitation had been rescinded.
The decision on whether to visit the White House became less of a fraught issue during former President Joe Biden’s term in office. Biden played host to numerous championship teams and generally did not engage in any sparring with squads which didn’t make the trip.
Trump’s attendance at Super Bowl LIX made him the first sitting US president to attend the biggest game of the NFL season.
Eagles’ offensive lineman Lane Johnson told Sportico last month that the decision on whether to visit the White House would be a team vote.
“I’d be honored to go, regardless of who the president is, but we’ll see. It’s ultimately a team decision. I’ll do what’s best for the team,” Johnson said.
