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Former Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins praised Jalen Hurts for deciding to skip the White House visit after the Eagles won Super Bowl 59. The Eagles won their second Super Bowl ever in franchise history when they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22.
“The team had framed the White House visit as optional,” Jenkins, who retired from the NFL in March 2022, wrote in a Substack post about Monday’s visit. “But leadership is never optional. When you’re the quarterback — the face of the team — your presence, or your absence, always says something. By choosing not to go, Jalen didn’t just make a personal decision. He made a public one.”
Hurts wasn’t the only Eagles player to skip out on the White House visit. A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Brandon Graham, Nolan Smith, and Zack Baun were also absent from the White House. Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, head coach Nick Sirianni, and team owner Howie Roseman represented the leadership role of the team as other players joined in on the visit.
“None of it will be easy,” Jenkins continued. “He’s stepping into a territory where even the smallest misstep will be amplified … Leadership today isn’t just about leading a team. It’s about leading a conversation. And Jalen Hurts — whether he realizes it or not — just entered that conversation at the highest level.”
Jenkins continued to praise Hurts’ decision and how it translates a different kind of leadership off the field.
“Jalen’s decision stands in opposition to a culture that often asks players to just ‘shut up and play.’ Instead, he’s choosing to lead — not just with his arm, but with his mind, his values, and his presence,” Jenkins added. “It’s a risk. But it’s also an opportunity to become something much bigger than a champion.”
Jenkins went on to reminisce about his own experience as an Eagle who decided not to participate at the Eagles’ White House visit back in 2018 when Trump was president for his first term. The Eagles won their first Super Bowl against the New England Patriots 41-33.
“I don’t want to take away from anybody’s experience or make it a big distraction. It’s a celebratory event, and I want the guys who choose to go or whatever to enjoy that,” Jenkins said in 2018. “Me personally, because it’s not a meeting or a sit-down or anything like that, I’m just not interested in the photo op.”
“Over the last two years, I’ve been meeting with legislators, both Republican and Democrat, it don’t matter. If you want to meet to talk about events in my community, changing the country, I’m all for that. But this isn’t one of those meetings, so I’ll opt out of the photo opportunity,” he added.
Jenkins continued to advocate for giving Hurts some support.
“If Jalen’s decision resonates with you, show him some love,” Jenkins said. “He’s going to need it — and I say that from experience. It’s easy to forget,...
