The reigning Super Bowl champions New England Patriots visited President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday. However, Trump's friend and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady skipped the White House visit due to family matters.
In a statement provided by Tom Brady to CNN, he cited "family matters" as the reason why he was not able to join his Patriots teammates and staff in the White House. However, he noted that he is happy for the support Trump has given his team throughout the years.
"Thank you to the President for hosting this honorary celebration and for supporting our team for as long as I can remember. In light of some recent developments, I am unable to attend today's ceremony, as I am attending to some personal family matters," Brady said.
According to Jeff How of The Boston Herald, the "family matters" Tom Brady mentioned is his mother, Galynn, who is battling cancer since last year. She was unable to attend any of the Patriots' games last season but she was present in Super Bowl LI when his son led New England to the greatest comeback in history.
Tom Brady chose to spend time with his mother, who was in town from California, rather than make the trip to Washington D.C. and visit the POTUS. Wednesday was a day off from offseason workouts for the Patriots so Brady decided to make the most of his time with his ill mother.
Besides Tom Brady, six other members of the Patriots' Super Bowl-winning team did not make the trip. They are tight end Martellus Bennett, running back LeGarrette Blount, defensive tackle Alan Branch, linebacker Dont'a Hightower, defensive end Chris Long and defensive back Devin McCourty, who all opposed to many of Trump's views and policies.
Nevertheless, the Patriots had a great time in the White House with Rob Gronkowski interrupting Sean Spicer media briefing. President Trump was given a No. 45 Patriots jersey by team owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick.
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