Eagles' Jalen Hurts receives praise from Super Bowl champ for skipping Trump visit

Malcolm Jenkins, a Super Bowl champion retired NFL subordinate who was among the Philadelphia Eagles who refused to observe their triumph astatine the White House with President Donald Trump successful 2018, praised Jalen Hurts for his determination to skip the ceremony.

Hurts decided to forgo the title solemnisation successful Washington implicit what was determined to beryllium "scheduling conflicts." The soundlessness connected the question astir attending the ceremonial portion astatine the Time100 Gala past week spoke much words than if helium said thing outright.

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Honoree Jalen Hurts attends the Time100 Gala, celebrating the 100 astir influential radical successful the world, astatine Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz astatine Lincoln Center connected Thursday, April 24, 2025 successful New York. (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Jenkins wrote successful a Substack nonfiction that if Hurts tin navigate the scrutiny that whitethorn travel with the decision, helium volition elevate himself into thing much than conscionable an NFL player.

"He solidifies himself arsenic a selfless leader, consenting to hazard comfortableness to grant his values," Jenkins wrote. "He strengthens his integrity and taste superior successful a mode fewer athletes ever achieve. He shows the adjacent procreation what it looks similar to basal connected principle—not conscionable play for the applause. He joins a contented of athletes who utilized their highest to propulsion conversations forward, not shy distant from them."

Jenkins made wide that "leadership is ne'er optional" and skipping the White House volition contiguous its ain acceptable of problems, from nationalist and media scrutiny to imaginable locker country division.

Philadelphia Eagles beardown information Malcolm Jenkins warms up earlier an NFL shot crippled against the New Orleans Saints successful New Orleans connected Nov. 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Butch Dill, File)

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"Leadership contiguous isn’t conscionable astir starring a team," Jenkins added. "It’s astir starring a conversation. And Jalen Hurts—whether helium realizes it oregon not—just entered that speech astatine the highest level."

The erstwhile antiaircraft backmost besides touched connected Saquon Barkley’s determination to walk the time with Trump earlier the White House celebration.

President Donald Trump, left, talks to Philadelphia Eagles shot subordinate Saquon Barkley earlier boarding Air Force One astatine Morristown Municipal Airport connected Sunday, April 27, 2025 successful Morristown, New Jersey. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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"It was disappointing, to accidental the precise slightest but I recognize that respect works some ways," Jenkins wrote. "Each antheral has to locomotion his ain path. But neutrality is not neutrality successful times similar these. And adjacent soundlessness becomes a statement."

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