Washington Capitals player won’t attend White House visit

A Washington Capitals player said Wednesday that he won’t attend the team’s celebratory visit to the White House after their Stanley Cup championship.

Brett Connolly, a forward for the national champion NHL team, said Wednesday that he doesn’t think attending would be the right thing to do and hinted that other players might also not attend, according to multiple reports.

“Personally, I don’t think I’m going to go … It has nothing to do with politics. For me, I just don’t think it’s the right thing to do,” Connolly reportedly said.

(2/2): “Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I think there’ll be a few guys not going, too. Like I said, it has nothing to do with politics, it’s about what’s right and wrong, and we’ll leave it at that.”

— John Matisz () August 29, 2018

{mosads}President Trump hasn’t officially invited the Capitals to the White House, but Connolly wasn’t the first player to say he won’t attend if he does.

In June, Devante Smith-Pelly said he didn’t plan to visit the White House, citing Trump’s rhetoric and calling it “racist and sexist.”

“The things that he spews are straight-up racist and sexist,” said Smith-Pelly, according to a Canadian newspaper.

“Some of the things he’s said are pretty gross,” he added. “I’m not too into politics, so I don’t know all his other views, but his rhetoric I definitely don’t agree with. It hasn’t come up here, but I think I already have my mind made up.”

Visiting the White House following a championship has long been tradition for professional U.S. teams, but some teams and individual players have opted out of doing so during the Trump presidency.

The NBA’s Golden State Warriors didn’t visit the White House following either of their championships in 2017 and 2018, and Trump disinvited the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles following their Super Bowl win this year after several players said they wouldn’t attend.