Andy Reid , who coached his Kansas City Chiefs to their first Super Bowl victory in 50 years on Sunday night, said that he would go to the White House to visit President Trump, if he were invited.
As Yahoo Sports reports, the team that wins a major championship — the World Series, the College Football Championship, the Super Bowl, and others — has, for decades, paid a customary visit to the White House afterwards. On Sunday night, moments after the Chiefs claimed the Vince Lombardi trophy, Reid was asked about the customary visit.
The head coach said that he hadn’t really given the matter any thought, but that if an invitation were to be extended to him, he’d go.
“I mean, I’ll be there. I’ll be there. If they’re inviting us, I’ll be there. It’s quite an honor, I think,” he replied.
Until recently, the matter of a championship-winning team visiting the White House was hardly controversial, as by and large, most teams visited the Oval Office after their victory, hobnobbed with the president for a bit, then went about their business. A few players here and there over the years have skipped out on the meeting, whether for political reasons or because they just weren’t interested or couldn’t fit it into their schedule. For the most part, a post-championship victory visit for a team hasn’t been in question.
That all changed once Donald Trump became president, however.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr , since Trump assumed office, several players on several championship-winning teams have publicly, vocally, and enthusiastically declined to make the traditional Oval Office visit, not wanting to be in the same room as the 45th president.
For example, when the Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LII, so many players publicly stated they wouldn’t be going to the White House that Trump disinvited the entire team.
As for Andy Reid, should the Chiefs be invited to the White House, his reasoning for going — whether because he supports Trump or simply because of his respect for the honor of the invitation — is known only to him.
This isn’t the first time Reid has dabbled in politics, though. As The Kansas City Star reported in 2018, the head coach attended a fundraiser for then-gubernatorial candidate Jeff Colyer, who — like Trump — is a Republican. However, Reid was quick to point out at the time that he was doing what he saw as a favor for a friend, nothing more, nothing less.
“[I’m not] the guy who’s into politics… that’s not what this is about,” he said.