White House confirms Jalen Hurts won't attend due to "scheduling conflicts"

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Jalen Hurts skipped the Philadelphia Eagles’ White House visit, citing scheduling conflicts, fueling speculation after an awkward response at the TIME100 Gala. This absence follows the team’s history with White House visits, including a canceled invitation in 2018. While some players, like Saquon Barkley, attended, Hurts’ decision highlights the intersection of sports, politics, and personal beliefs in the NFL.

It’s official: Jalen Hurts won’t be at the White House today when the Eagles celebrate their Super Bowl win. According to a White House official, he’s got “scheduling conflicts,” but fans aren’t exactly buying that. Especially after his pretty awkward red carpet moment earlier this week, where he basically dodged the question altogether.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts has officially skipped the team’s visit to the White House today. According to NBC’s White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor, a White House official confirmed that Hurts would not be attending, along with a few other players, due to “scheduling conflicts.”

The Eagles visited Washington, D.C., following their thrilling Super Bowl win, but the absence of one of the team’s biggest stars didn’t go unnoticed by fans and they have a lot to say.

Interestingly, rumors that Hurts might miss the White House event had already started circulating days ago. During the TIME100 Gala earlier this week, Hurts was asked point-blank if he would attend the celebration. His response? A noticeable hesitation, an awkward pause, and no direct answer, basically leaving fans scratching their heads.

So when the official word came today that he wasn’t going, it didn’t exactly shock anyone. But it definitely added fuel to the fire about why he really skipped it.

This isn’t the first time the Eagles have had drama around a White House visit. Back in 2018, after their Super Bowl win, the team famously declined to attend the White House under then-President Donald Trump. That ended with Trump rescinding the invitation altogether, blaming the controversy over national anthem protests. Fast forward to 2025, and although the Eagles this time “enthusiastically accepted” President Trump’s new invitation, team owner Jeffrey Lurie made it very clear: attendance was 100% optional.

Not every player bailed, though. Running back Saquon Barkley showed up at the White House and even squeezed in a round of golf with Trump before the event. Meanwhile, Hurts and a few other unnamed players chose not to attend, citing “scheduling conflicts” as the official reason.

Still, plenty of fans aren’t buying it. To them, it looks a lot more like Hurts quietly distancing himself rather than just being too busy.

Whether or not Jalen Hurts intended to make a political statement, his absence from today’s ceremony proves one thing: in 2025, the line between sports, politics, and personal beliefs is thinner than ever. And with the NFL’s massive spotlight, every decision, even ones as small as a “scheduling conflict” gets analyzed under a microscope.

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