Sports & Politics Intersect: Championship White House visits could become a relic of the past
"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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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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