Just 2 Eagles Planned To Attend White House Visit: Reports

PHILADELPHIA – Just two Philadelphia Eagles players were planning to attend the since-canceled event at the White House that was intended to celebrate their Super Bowl victory, according to multiple reports.

Sources tell the Associated Press that only two of the players had plans to go.

The low expected attendance prompted the Trump Administration to cancel the event, which was changed to a "celebration of America" event, which lasted about half an hour and featured performances from the United States Marine Band and the United States Army Chorus as well as brief remarks from President Trump.

Check out highlights from the event here.

The report does not say which players agreed to the visit.

On Monday night, the administration announced the visit's cancelation.

"The Eagles offered to send only a tiny handful of representatives, while making clear that the great majority of players would not attend the event, despite planning to be in D.C. today," the administration's statement on canceling the visit said. "In other words, the vast majority of the Eagles team decided to abandon their fans."

According to the administration, of the team allegedly "disagree(s) 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."

Eagles players did not mince word over frustration at the move to cancel the event, as it appeared to be based also on the National Anthem kneeling controversy.

Eagles wide receiver Torrey Smith accused the administration of lying on Twitter after the announcement Monday.

"So many lies smh," Smith Tweeted Monday evening. "Here are some facts 1. Not many people were going to go2. No one refused to go simply because Trump 'insists' folks stand for the anthem 3. The President continues to spread the false narrative that players are anti military."

Malcolm Jenkins, one of the team's most vocal and active social justice proponent, issued a statement Tuesday afternoon lauding his teammates off-the-field efforts and echoed Smith's comments accusing the administration of lying.

"... The decision was made to lie," he said of the visit being canceled, "and paint the picture that these players are anti-America, anti-flag and anti-military."

Jenkins said in his statement that courage is needed to tell the truth, regardless if the truth is difficult to accept. Jenkins tweeted his statement with the hashtag "TheFightContinues."

Image: Philadelphia Eagles fans attend a 'Celebration of America' event on the south lawn of the White House June 5, 2018 in Washington, DC. The event, originally intended to honor the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, was changed after the majority of the team declined to attend the event due to a disagreement with Trump over NFL players kneeling during the national anthem. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)