One of the biggest perks of winning a championship in professional sports is the opportunity to visit the White House after a title victory, but for New England Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett, a trip to the Oval Office isn’t in the cards.
The former Chicago Bears standout, who was a member of the Patriots squad that beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in an overtime thriller on Sunday night, told media members after the game that he will not make the trip to the White House to visit President Donald Trump.
The decision by Bennett to not go to the White House isn’t a shocking one, as he had said earlier in the week that he didn’t intend to go if his team won the game, but it’s still a notable decision considering the personal politics of his teammates, his head coach, and the owner of the team he plays for.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who won Super Bowl MVP after leading his team from a 25-point deficit, head coach Bill Belichick, who won his fifth championship at the helm of the squad, and Patriots owner Robert Kraft are all supporters of Trump, who stunned political experts by winning the 2016 presidential election against Hillary Clinton.
Bennett was never a hugely outspoken supporter of Clinton’s, but has said in the past that he does not support Trump’s policies. He will be a free agent as the 2017 offseason begins, and it's unclear if his decision will have any ramifications on his standing with the Patriots.
