In this post, I offer my thoughts on how irresponsible reporting of rumors promotes disharmony and worse. Always check the source before spreading what is often misinformation.

Following an erroneous article in The Sun (never to be mistaken for a bastion of journalistic ethics or accuracy), then picked up by other irresponsible media outlets and spread around the globe by the unchecked rot on social media, SB Nation set the record straight on February 24, 2025, by publishing The Eagles have not rejected a White House visit, despite rumors, by senior staff writer James Dator.

“As it stands the Eagles have not made an official comment about visiting the White House, nor has President Trump extended an invitation at this time,” Dator wrote. “NFL teams typically make their official visits over the summer, but reports emerge about invites in mid-February, which means we are behind the normal timeline for these kind of arrangements. That could mean that the White House is planning to end the tradition of inviting championship teams, or they’re currently too busy dealing with (looks around at everything) to focus on the winner of the Lombardi trophy.”¹

Thank you, Mr. Dator, and SB Nation. I appreciate real journalism. Will the president invite the Eagles to the White House? Will they accept? Right now, nobody knows, so The Sun article is nothing less than stirring the pot, promoting controversy, and attempting to increase circulation and ad revenue.

Let’s take a look at the history of such White House invitations.

Soon after former US President Jimmy Carter’s passing at age 100 in Plains, Georgia, on December 29, 2024, the Atlanta Falcons and the Washington Commanders rightfully issued public statements and held moments of silence to remember America’s 39^th chief executive. That was fitting, as Carter, a huge sports fan, actually started what then became a tradition of inviting the Super Bowl champions to visit the White House. The invitations then widened to include a variety of championship teams and athletes.

The first championship team President Carter invited and to visit the White House was the 1978 NBA champion Washington Bullets. He then hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates – winners of the 1979 World Series – and the Pittsburgh Steelers – winners of the 1979/80 season’s Super Bowl – in a White House celebration on February 22, 1980. Sure, it was an election year and provided the president with positive publicity, especially enticing as it featured two teams from the significant electoral state of Pennsylvania, but the overall vibe was that of the president, on behalf of the country and serving as the country’s leader, congratulating the champions for their performances.

It is important to remember, Carter, widely recognized as an honorable and principled man, was not enjoying great popularity in 1980 and lost that November’s election overwhelmingly to Ronald Reagan. The economy was a mess and American hostages were being held in captivity in Iran. With that environment, not everyone on the Steelers and Pirates was a fan of the president; yet both teams respected the Office of the Presidency and readily accepted their invitations to be honored within the walls of ‘the People’s House.’ President Reagan continued President Carter’s precedent and continued to invite championship teams to the White House, and the invitations were accepted without political rancor or spite. Ah, for the good old days.

Like most things, that respect has dwindled over the years as everything, it seems, is seen and communicated as being political. Way back in the 1960s, my extremely wise yet not formally-educated grandfather, Henry James Wyant, said it was our responsibility and privilege as Americans to respect the presidency no matter who the individual person was in office at any given time. That goes for other elected officials, too. We can disagree, my grandfather believed, but always about facts and policy, not personalities.

I am a life-long Philadelphia Eagles fan and am still smiling about the team’s dominant victory in Super Bowl LIX. Please allow me and my fellow Birds fans enjoy our championship without politics invading our time at the top of the NFL. And my advice to the Eagles – and to anyone who is invited by any president to visit the White House – is to accept the invitation, stand tall, and enjoy the honor.

That’s what being a true champion is all about.

REMEMBER…

◊ “It really was Carter who saw the magic of sports to bring people together. It wasn’t just teams he brought to the White House. He brought Hank Aaron to the White House after he had his record-breaking home run in 1974. That really began a tradition that has evolved and taken on different manifestations with different presidencies.” – Stewart McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association. (From a great article on this topic by Alex Schiffer in Front Office Sports, visit https://frontofficesports.com/jimmy-carter-pioneered-super-bowl-white-house-visit/. 

◊ Various presidents who served prior to Jimmy Carter and occasionally invited sports teams to the White House were Andrew Johnson in 1865, Calvin Coolidge in 1925, John F. Kennedy in 1963, and Gerald Ford in 1976. Visit the Front Office Sports article web link above for more information.

◊ Incidentally, we need to rethink giving the microphone to so many players at their celebration parade ceremonies. By the time they are asked to speak, most have been celebrating – read that drinking – for several hours. The result by the time they step up to the podium is often a variety of F-bombs and other words we are better off not hearing. This is especially true for the children who idolize and emulate the players. Limit the speakers and implore them to stay classy. Enough said.

◊ Visit www.davidajolley.com for additional blog posts and other interesting content.

1. Dator, James, SB Nation, The Eagles have not rejected a White House visit, despite rumors, February 24, 2025, https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2025/2/24/24371799/eagles-super-bowl-visit-trump-report-rumors-nfl ↩︎