Patriots star Tom Brady dismisses White House visit question

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady declined to say on Thursday whether he would visit the White House with his teammates if invited to celebrate the team’s recent Super Bowl victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

Brady was asked about his plans during an appearance at razor company Gillette’s headquarters in Boston. The six-time Super Bowl champion responded by simply saying “next question," NBC Boston reported.

Sitting presidents typically invite championship-winning sports teams to visit the White House to commemorate the occasion. However, animosity over President Trump’s policies has led some top athletes to skip the trip in recent years. In some cases, the White House has declined to issue an invitation altogether.

Three Patriots players – Jason McCourty, Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon – have already gone on record saying that would not visit the White House if invited. Brady did not attend the White House ceremony when the Patriots last won the Super Bowl in 2017, citing personal reasons.

Trump’s relationship with prominent members of the Patriots organization has drawn scrutiny in recent years. Brady, team owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick all expressed support for Trump during the 2016 election cycle. More recently, Brady has declined to comment on political issues.

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The president withdrew an invitation to last year’s Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, after several players were publicly critical of his administration and said they would not attend. Trump also declined to invite the NBA champion Golden State Warriors to the White House in 2017 for similar reasons.