President Trump cancels Philadelphia Eagles visit to the White House

 (CNN)The Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles' White House visit has been canceled due to the controversy over standing for the National Anthem at NFL games, President Donald Trump announced Monday.

"The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow," Trump said in a statement. "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. The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better."

t's an unprecedented move by Trump. The NBA champion Golden State Warriors declined an invitation from the President to visit the White House after winning the 2017 championship, but presidents typically honor their invitations to championship teams. Players also have refused those invitations in the past -- Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas declined to visit the White House in 2012 over disagreements with President Barack Obama's policies. The President typically invites the champions of major professional and college sports to the White House for a visit as a part of their victory celebrations.
Last month, the NFL announced it would require athletes to stand during the National Anthem in response to players who took a knee as protest to what some players see as the systemic oppression of people of color, including by police.
The movement was initially started by Colin Kaepernick, who was formerly with the San Francisco 49ers. He drew national attention for refusing to stand during "The Star-Spangled Banner" prior to kickoff. "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," Kaepernick told NFL Media in August 2016.
Trump has repeatedly criticized players for not standing for the anthem and has gone as far as to say team owners should fire players for doing so.
The new NFL policy gives players the option of remaining in the locker room during the playing of the anthem if they do not wish to comply.

Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/04/politics/trump-eagles-nfl/index.html