We’re only a few days out from the Pittsburgh Penguins completing the repeat as Stanley Cup champions. As the dust settles on another hockey season, fans have been wondering whether or not the Penguins will accept a White House invitation to meet with President Donald Trump.
The Pittsburgh Penguins will not deny a White House invitation
Team president David Morehouse said the team “would never turn down a visit to the White House.”
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the team will not turn down an invitation, should it arrive. Team president David Morehouse put out a statement earlier in the week on the matter.
“The Pittsburgh Penguins would never turn down a visit to the White House and, if invited, we would go as a team. We respect the Office of the Presidency of the United States and what it stands for. Any opposition or disagreement with a president’s policies, or agenda, can be expressed in other ways.”
Though the Penguins say they may go as a team, there is precedent for individual players to opt out of the invitation. Goaltender Tim Thomas famously did not attend in 2012 when the Bruins won the Stanley Cup.
The statement coming from Morehouse is interesting, as he worked under the Clinton administration and on the campaigns of Al Gore and John Kerry in 2000. Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle also has ties to the Democratic party, as he has been a donor.
Also wrapped up in this is Bill Peduto, the mayor of Pittsburgh, and the tension with the Trump Administration after the Paris Agreement withdraw.
The White House visit, if it occurs, is far off. The Penguins met with former President Obama back in October 2016 after winning it all last season.
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