One day after uniting on the field to stage the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, the Patriots may be dividing off of it.
Safety Devin McCourty, who contributed five tackles to New England’s 34-28 victory over the Falcons on Sunday night, joined tight end Martellus Bennett in taking a political stand Monday, saying he would not travel to Washington for a ceremonial visit to Donald Trump’s White House.
“I’m not going to the White House,” McCourty told TIME. “Basic reason for me is I don’t feel accepted in the White House. With the president having so many strong opinions and prejudices I believe certain people might feel accepted there while others won’t.”
McCourty, who collected his second Super Bowl ring with the Patriots since he was drafted out of Rutgers in 2010, believes the Patriots should give their players the option of attending, in which case he would stay home rather than face the commander in chief, recently under fire for banning immigrants and refugees from seven majority-Muslim countries.
“I can’t imagine a way I go there,” he reiterated.
Bennett, starting in the place of the injured Rob Gronkowski, announced last week he would not attend the celebratory event should the Patriots win, and then confirmed his stance to reporters following the trophy ceremony Sunday.
Bennett and McCourty are part of a team with strong ties to the president. Trump, who has referred to coach Bill Belichick, owner Robert Kraft and quarterback Tom Brady as his “friends” on several occasions, mentioned them personally in his congratulatory tweet Sunday night, hours after he predicted the Patriots would defeat the Falcons by eight points.
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