When the Philadelphia Eagles celebrated their Super Bowl win at the White House with President Donald Trump in April, one notable name was not part of the festivities. Quarterback Jalen Hurts missed the event due to “scheduling conflicts,” the White House announced at the time.
Hurts was asked Tuesday why he missed the event. He declined to go into detail on the issue, simply saying he “wasn’t available.” Hurts added he didn’t think it was pertinent to the upcoming season.
And that was that.
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Hurts’ media session Tuesday was supposed to focus on the upcoming NFL season and he held fast to that topic. Hurts even declined to answer a question about the Super Bowl because it was something that happened in the past.
Tuesday marks at least the second time this offseason Hurts declined to get into specifics when discussing the White House visit. Prior to the event, Hurts merely said “um” when asked whether he planned to attend.
There was no fallout from Hurts skipping the event. The White House seemed perfectly content with Hurts’ scheduling conflicts getting in the way of the visit, and Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie put out a statement making it clear attendance was “optional.”
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Hurts is not the first quarterback to skip the White House visit for scheduling reasons. New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers legend Tom Brady did it multiple times over his career.
Given Hurts’ status in the NFL — he was the Super Bowl LIX MVP — he’ll likely continue to face questions about the White House visit over the next few months. If Tuesday’s answer is any indication, he’ll keep his response brief before turning the focus back to football.
