“At the end of the day, I’m fighting for people. I’m fighting for Americans and citizens that have been disenfranchised, that have been systemically oppressed for centuries.” That’s how Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins summed up his stance during his 2018 protests. The image of Jenkins raising his fist during the national anthem raised a widespread debate. Philly went on to win the Super Bowl and got an invitation from Donald Trump.

But that visit never happened. And that’s when the whole Philly vs. Trump fiasco began. Now, six years later, with Jalen Hurts leading the team, the invitation is back on the table. The big question is, will they go to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue this time?

This year, President Trump has invited the Eagles for a White House visit on April 28. With that, the old debate about their last Super Bowl trip (or lack thereof) is making the rounds again.

Enter Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, who shed some light on the situation.

As reported by Dave Zangaro from NBC Sports Philadelphia, Lurie stated there were “special circumstances” that led the Eagles to decline the White House invitation after Super Bowl LII. This time, however, there’s no hesitation in accepting the President’s invitation. Interestingly, all the players don’t need to attend it as a mandatory task.

Jeffrey Lurie says there were “special circumstances” that led to the Eagles not visiting the White House after Super Bowl LII. Says there was no hesitation to accept the invite this time around but says it’ll be optional for players to attend.

— Dave Zangaro (@DZangaroNBCS) April 1, 2025

After Philly won Super Bowl LII, the team canceled their White House visit. In a statement, Trump said, “The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow. 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.”

Although he invited fans, the situation sparked a heated debate. So, after Philly won this year, the talk of the town was whether the Eagles would visit this time or if history would repeat itself. But it looks like this time, it’s a whole different ball game.

Eagles ready to shake hands with Donald Trump

“You know when you grow up and you hear about, ‘Oh, the championship team got to go to the White House,’ that’s what this is. So we didn’t have that opportunity, and now we do. I think we’re all looking forward to it.” That’s what owner Jeffrey Lurie has to say about their upcoming visit to the White House. 

This time, Philly is ready to take a flight to Washington, D.C. Eagles HC Nick Sirianni also shared the same opinion as Lurie. Sirianni said, “I’m excited to go, yeah. What an honor to be able to go to the White House. Teams that have been able to win championships have been doing that for a long time, and I’m honored to go and excited to go.” 

The wave of protests in the NFL began nearly a decade ago with former Niners QB Colin Kaepernick. It started in 2016 when he quietly sat on the bench during a preseason game, initially going unnoticed. But as Kaepernick continued, the media caught on, and soon, other players followed his lead.

In 2017, Donald Trump criticized athletes for protesting during the national anthem, fueling an already heated debate. By 2020, Kaepernick, now a footballer-turned-civil rights activist, doubled down on his stance.

In an essay, he wrote, “Despite the steady cascade of anti-Black violence across this country, I am hopeful we can build a future that imagines justice differently,” reinforcing his call to abolish police and prisons. Years later, those protests are still a big part of the conversation about sports and activism.

But this time, the Eagles aren’t caught in the middle of it. Instead, they’re gearing up for a long-overdue trip to the White House- no drama, just celebration.