Sports
Third New England Patriots Player Declines White House Trip
Another member of the Super Bowl champions will sit out the visit with President Donald Trump.
FOXBOROUGH, MA — A third New England Patriots player has announced that he will not make the trip to Washington D.C. when the team visits President Donald Trump to celebrate their Super Bowl victory.
Dont'a Hightower told ESPN that he will not join his teammates when the Patriots makes their White House trip. Martellus Bennett and team captain Devin McCourty previously said they would not attend the visit.
Dont'a Hightower tells ESPN he won't go to the White House. Says he already went before. Doesn't say anything about Trump.
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) February 8, 2017
Unlike Bennett and McCourty, Hightower didn't mention Trump. He simply told ESPN that he's gone before, leaving out any reference to the president.
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- Standard Setters: Fittingly, These Patriots are First Champions to Visit Donald Trump's White House
The move is far from unprecedented, but is subject to more attention because of the team's relationship with President Trump. Quarterback Tom Brady, coach Bill Belichick, and owner Robert Kraft are, by all accounts, pretty friendly with Trump.
The last time the Patriots were at the White House, Brady backed out of a team visit with President Barack Obama due to "family commitments." Team President Jonathan Kraft also missed the visit, telling 98.5 The Sports Hub last week that he was unable to make the post-Super Bowl XLIX due to a skiing injury.
Find out what's happening in Foxboroughfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Mike Carraggi contributed to this report.
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