Will the Chiefs visit President Trump in the White House?
By Staff
The Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV and have earned a chance to be invited to the White House. Assuming they are, will they attend?
The Chiefs answered all questions during their Super Bowl run. Well, almost.
After winning Super Bowl LIV over the San Francisco 49ers, the looming wonderment is whether head coach Andy Reid and his team will visit the White House when invited by President Donald Trump, as is tradition.
According to multiple news outlets, Reid has already said he plans to go. Wide receiver Tyreek Hill has confirmed his interest as well. Cornerback Bashaud Breeland — slated to hit free agency on March 18 — was also emphatic about his excitement in going to the ceremony. However, defensive end Frank Clark was non-committal.
During the Trump Administration, he’s invited all three NFL champions — the New England Patriots twice and the Philadelphia Eagles. New England attended the first time but not last year. Philadelphia made clear it would not attend in 2018, with the decision followed by Trump disinviting the team.
While Trump stated in the Super Bowl’s immediate aftermath his plans to have the Chiefs to the White House, it’s unclear when the date would be. Trump talked about the week after the game, but that has come and gone. In the past, Super Bowl champions have typically gone in the spring. The last NFL team to attend, the 2016-17 Patriots, made their jaunt to Washington D.C. in April.
While it’s an individual choice for the players and coaches, it appears the Chiefs would be well-represented at the nation’s capital even if some decide to stay home.
The tradition was started with the Jimmy Carter Administration, when MLB’s Pittsburgh Pirates and the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers were invited together to the White House in Feb. 1980. In the years since, Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr., Bill Clinton, George Bush Jr. and Barack Obama continued having major sports teams come visit, with Trump now following suit.