2 Patriots Skipping Visit to White House

'I don't feel accepted' in Trump's White House, McCourty says
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 7, 2017 1:33 AM CST
2 Patriots Skipping Visit to White House
New England Patriots Martellus Bennett is interviewed on the field after the win.   (AP Photo/Gregory Payan)

New England Patriots defensive back Devin McCourty says he "doesn't feel accepted" in the White House with Donald Trump as president and that he'll be skipping the team's ceremonial visit following their stunning Super Bowl win. "With the president having so many strong opinions and prejudices, I believe certain people might feel accepted there while others won't," McCourty tells Time, adding that the visit is a personal choice and "I can't imagine a way I go there." Another Patriot, tight end Martellus Bennett, announced even before the game that he'd be boycotting Trump's White House, the Chicago Tribune reports.

"I'm not going to go," Bennett told reporters after the Patriots win. "I'm going to elaborate later on in life," he said, adding that people already know how he feels. The New York Daily News notes that both McCourty and Bennett took part in the protests inspired by Colin Kaepernick this season, raising their fists as the national anthem played. (Goalie Tim Thomas skipped the Stanley Cup-winning Boston Bruins' White House visit in 2012 because he thought the federal government was out of control.)

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