Yes.

 

Hell no. And I can't stand the man. Lol

 

I don't need to go to Trump white house, considering he is here, in Florida every weekend.
80 miles south and I can experience his turmoil.

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Of course they should go. Whether they like this particular President isn't the point, he's the President of the United States and should be shown the respect due his office.

 

for me, it would depend on if they offer refreshments or if you just stand around outside. i understand the wh has an excellent kitchen staff, so i would be curious to experience the presentation, etc.

otherwise no. it doesn't feel disrespectful to me to not show up at the house of someone i would march against.

 

I disagree with this. The office of president should be respected, however you or I have no obligation to respect a person. Respect of a person has to be earned, I don't care what their job is. I don't respect Trump's politics, I don't respect Trump as a man.

 

Would not go. Do not respect the man. Do not respect his politics.

These players who chose not to attend - maybe some of them had previous engagements. I would suspect though that many of them chose not to attend on principle. They chose not be a part of this particular dog and pony show. Just as I am sure that during the terms of President Obama (and other past Presidents) there were those individuals who turned down attending events such as this based on their principles

 

Oh no. If I remember correctly, a lot of them said they would not go because they do not respect him.

 

This does not surprise me in the least...I assumed as much

 

Six players announced they would not go. The most well-known, starting running back Legarrete Blount, stated "I don't feel welcome in that house". To my knowledge, none of the other openly boycotting players made a comment specifically about Trump.

I would not go to the White House for a Trump event.

 

Ok maybe it was just one.

 

I did a little more digging and found this:

Here Are the Six Players Skipping the Patriots' Visit to White House Tomorrow

It turns out that Long, Branch and McCourty have been outspoken about their reasons for not attending. Branch cited Trump's misogynistic behavior. Long and McCourty made a video that included a number of Patriot fans.

Chris Long is the son of Howie Long, a noted Oakland Raider who is now part of Fox Sports' Sunday NFL Pre-Game show.

 

I'd go for the chance to see the White House, the history, the architecture, etc. Who's "running" it has little to do with that. Sure, I'd prefer there be a President residing there that was a lot more well liked and respected, as I would not want to be "guilty by association". Otherwise I wouldn't make too much of it. Not everything has to be a political statement. If I had an opportunity to be invited to the White House and I scoffed and stuck my nose up at every indiscretion, scandal or immoral act from a President, I'd have to decline invites from all of them and from all that will come. lol

 

That was my point. The holder of the office of the President invited you. You should go as it shows respect for that office, whether or not you respect the current holder of the office.

I would expect these football players to show up just like I'd expect David Duke to show up if Obama invited him. The way I see it, if you don't show up you're saying your dislike of the person in more important than your respect for their office, and that's wrong.

 

I agree with that, but at the same time... I guess if someone doesn't like the President and doesn't want to visit him, then they shouldn't feel obligated to do so out of respect for the office.

I just think it's a shame that we live in a culture where boycotting things is the norm. We used to be able to have a certain form a civility with one another even if we didn't like someone. Now all bets are off.

Someone steps on your toe, they are the enemy. Someone kicks your dog, you want to see them burn in hell. What happened to the days when kicking a dog was just between you and the dog? ;-) lol

 

With Trump in office, the decision to go or not to go is unavoidably political.

Trump Blasts NY Times for 'Big Lie' About Patriots' Visit to White House

 

You know what? I think what bothers me about this is that it makes us as a country look bad. This isn't some private individual quietly declining, but a "feel good" event for the country having a winning sports team meet the President, and they had to wreck it by making some political statement.

These football players are acting like President Roosevelt refusing to invite Jessie Owen's to the White House after his victory in the Munich Olympics.

 

I agree.

 

Kudos to the players who did not go.
They made a political statement by that, which is their very right.
Giving the one they do not regard as their president the positive publicity would have been hypocrisy, and you can't respect the office but only the one who runs the office.
The office is a dead thing. The president is the one who represents the country. So if one feels that the president is not representing them it's only honest to refuse paying a visit.

It would be different if it was about a moderate president. Let's say, the president is a Republican and the players in question are Democrats or Independants or whatever and they disagree about the usual things, as usual between the different parties. Or vice versa, the president was a Democrat and the players Republicans/Conservatives.
In that case I'd say it would be silly and too much drama.

But here, given that Trump is anything but moderate but goes to unacceptable extremes for a lot of people all around the world and causes chaos up to being a threat to world peace, I truly understand why they refused to go.
They set an example, and it surely isn't just due to partisan reasons.