"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." - Press statement from President Donald J. Trump
Is the tradition of championship-winning pro sports teams visiting the White House in danger of disappearing, at least during the Trump administration? It sure seems that way.
Earlier this week, the White House disinvited the Philadelphia Eagles less than 24 hours before their scheduled visits, accusing the team of abandoning their fans. The real culprit, however, appears to be that as few as two players had agreed to visit "The People's House." In lieu of hosting the Super Bowl champs, President Trump turned the event into a "Celebration of America," one where thousands of alleged Eagles fans showed up. Even that affair was rife with somewhat controversial moments — from the allegation by an Eagles beat reporter that many present were actually interns, to people kneeling during the ceremony, to a clip of Trump forgetting the words to "God Bless America" going viral. For their part, the Eagles went back to work, staying mostly silent (that's particularly true of Malcolm Jenkins), though Chris Long did take this debacle as an opportunity to call out NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for seemingly not backing up the players.
Lost in the back and forth has been the fact that the Minnesota Lynx, the most recent WNBA champions, weren't ever invited to the White House in the first place, though that might not be as much of a surprise since the team and the league have been vocal advocates of the very same issues raised by the NFL players protesting — addressing racial inequality and police brutality. In fact, in 2016, police walked out of a Lynx game after players wore "Black Lives Matter" shirts. White House invite or not, the Lynx traveled to D.C. regardless, devoting their trip to a day of service in the area (if curious or interested, there are some great photos of Lynx players doing good here).
And speaking of pro basketball teams not going to the White House, regardless of who wins the NBA finals, neither team has any interest in going — and that's coming straight from the mouths of Steph Curry and LeBron James, two of the biggest stars in the sports world. Following their statements, Trump said he wouldn't invite either team anyway.
And then there's the newly minted Stanley Cup winners, the Washington Capitals. The hometown team won their first NHL championship in franchise history, but even that might not be enough to earn them an invite. When asked about it, Trump was very noncommittal, saying that he'd host them if they wanted to visit, but would not extend an invite if they didn't. Time will eventually tell what the Caps decide, but at least one player, Devante Smith-Pelly, has already made it clear he plans on skipping the ceremony.
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USA Gymnastics officials tried keeping Nassar allegations quiet - At a Senate hearing, it was discovered that at least 15 people knew about allegations of abuse from disgraced doctor Larry Nassar, but did not report them to the authorities. Testimony showed how former USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny, who plead the Fifth Amendment on questions directly related to Nassar, tried to keep the claims quiet. Back in Michigan where Michigan State officials continue to spell out the details of its settlement with Nassar’s victims, former school dean William Stampel will face trial over accusations of criminal sexual misconduct.
Kaepernick’s legal team to subpoena President Trump - In the collusion lawsuit against the NFL, Colin Kaepernick’s lawyers plan are seeking federal subpoenas to get testimony directly from the president as well as Vice President Mike Pence and others with knowledge of the president’s agenda regarding the NFL players’ protests during the national anthem. In the meantime, Birmingham mayor Randall Woddfin invited Kaepernick to come play for the city’s franchise in the Alliance for American Football, a new league which launches in 2019. Away from football, famed director Ava Duvernay will develop a comedy series based on Kap’s high school days.
Ex-Texans cheerleaders sue team - The concerns of NFL cheerleaders continues to make headlines, this time in Houston where former members of the Texans’ cheerleading team allege low pay and intimidation in their lawsuit against the franchise. Meanwhile, they also sent commissioner Roger Goodell a letter, demanding to change a culture of “inhumane” treatment.
Lawyers tussle over concussion settlement fees - Attorneys representing many former NFL players are arguing with a league expert over a suggestion that the legal fees taken from payouts of the NFL’s concussion settlement are capped at 30 percent. Meanwhile, a study from the Journal of Neurosurgery says that it may be possible to detect head trauma in the blood after following the injuries of 35 NCAA football players in 2016. Separately, New England Patriots president Jonathan Kraft defended the NFL’s approach to addressing head trauma, including CTE, at a biotech symposium in Boston.
Argentina cancels friendly match with Israel - Argentina’s men’s national team decided to cancel its pre-World Cup warm-up match against Israel, citing the latest actions in the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza. In response, the Israeli production company that was set to film the match want the Argentinians kicked out of the tournament for religious discrimination. Argentina’s football association president apologized for the cancellation.
US Soccer: World Cup bid won’t be affected by Trump - According to US Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro, the joint bid for the 2026 men’s World Cup with Mexico and Canada will not be impacted by President Trump. Of course, with one other bidder (Morocco) in the running, the "united" bid is not a done deal yet, despite being the favored bidder. As for this year’s event, it serves as a reminder of the roles of host nation Russia and the absent Americans in the FIFA corruption scandal.
WWE’s approach to @AmyMek story signals company change - WWE has always addressed controversy with a selective whitewashing of its history, making its approach to the HuffPost story on an anti-Muslim Twitter personality whose husband used to work for the company different from how it has dealt with other issues.
Members of NFLPA domestic violence panel quit - Deborah Epstein and Susan Else, who were hired by the NFL Players Association as part of a commission that would explore the NFL’s efforts to combat domestic violence, announced their resignations in a Washington Post op-ed, citing that the players’ union did not use any of their recommendations.
Esports team partners with You Can Play - The Los Angeles Valiant, a franchise in the Overwatch League, will work with the You Can Play project to bring diversity and inclusion training with all members of the team, becoming the first esports team to do so. One of You Can Play’s directors is former NFL wide receiver Wade Davis, who wants to use his experience and association with the NFL to root out homophobia in sports.
Dennis Rodman will be part of Singapore summit - At some point, The Worm would turn in the ongoing tug and pull between President Trump and North Korean dictator Kim-Jong Un. Basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman will be in Singapore when the two meet up for the much-hyped summit.
Trump may pardon Ali for already overturned conviction - After pardoning Jack Johnson in late May, the president is considering a pardon for another legendary boxer, Muhammad Ali, for his draft-evasion conviction during the Vietnam War. Ignoring that the Supreme Court already overturned the conviction in 1971, the late boxer’s supporters believe Trump is grandstanding.
EPA chief’s connection to coal baron included Kentucky hoops - Last December, embattled EPA administrator Scott Pruitt and his son took in the action between men’s college basketball rivals Louisville and Kentucky from the courtside seats belonging to billionaire coal executive Joseph W. Craft III, who had been lobbying for looser environmental restrictions on the coal mining industry.
Ivanka Trump’s Russian weightlifting contact - During her father’s presidential campaign, Ivanka was approached to arrange meeting between then-candidate Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin, and she put him into contact with Trump attorney Michael Cohen. The man who tried to arrange the connection was Dmitry Klokov, a former Olympic weightlifter that wanted to help the Trump family build its own 100-story tower in Moscow.
This week in sports and politics history: The White House is gifted a pool to help FDR
“The president’s pool was a modern-day showcase of technology, featuring underwater lighting, sterilizers and the latest gadgets.” -The White House website on how totally awesome Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s pool was
At age 39, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was stricken with infantile paralysis, better known as polio. At the time, polio was reaching children all over the country, but was a disease that most kids became immune to after the age of four. Polio striking Roosevelt in his late 30s didn’t just change the president’s life, but changed the country.
Before Roosevelt even became president, he founded a non-profit that would later be called the March of Dimes which “helped fund research for a polio vaccine and assisted victims on the long path through physical rehabilitation.”
Because of the work FDR was doing to help raise funds and awareness for the disease, his work was reciprocated by the general public when Captain Joseph Patterson, a publisher for the New York Daily News, began raising money to have a pool built in the White House just 10 days after he was elected.
The pool was 50-feet long and Roosevelt would use to exercise almost daily as swimming was the only form of exercise that would allow his legs to support the weight of his body.
The pool would be used until Richard Nixon drained the pool in 1970 to create space for what is now the press briefing room. John F. Kennedy used the pool quite frequently during his time in the White House to help with a bad back while President Lyndon Johnson was incredibly liberal about bathing suits —or the lack thereof — while in the pool.
The room for the pool still exists, and is visited by members of every first family, White House staffers and reports, many of whom leave messages on the walls in the pool room.
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