Penguins accept White House invite


Back to back Stanley Cup champions Pittsburgh Penguins have issued a statement saying they will go to the White House. The team issued a statement Sunday saying that they "respect the institution of the Office of the President, and the long standing tradition of championship teams visiting the White House." This statement comes a day after Golden State Warriors basketball player Stephen Curry declined to go to the White House with his championship team (the team said Monday that they would not go to the White House because of Trump's comments).
The Penguins have the right idea by saying they "respect the institution of the Office of the President". Basically, they are saying you may not like the person but you respect the position that they hold. It is an honor to be invited to the White House even once. This is a team who is going to have gone three times under three different Presidents (Bush in 2009, Obama in 2016, and Trump in 2017). 
Also in the statement, the Penguins say "any agreement or disagreement with a president's politics, policies, or agenda can be expressed in other ways. However, we very much respect the rights of other individuals and groups to express themselves as they see fit." To me, this seems like a message to other teams spanning across different sports saying that they can do what they want but even though they may not agree with what Trump is doing or saying or may not like Trump, they should still respect the presidency and the fact that it basically a tradition among winning teams to take a trip to the White House. 
I stand with the Pittsburgh Penguins whether they win or lose, whether they make the playoffs or not, and whether they go to the Stanley Cup or not. I also stand with them on this not only because I love this hockey team but because I agree with their message. Not many people outside of politics can say that they have been to the White House and to be able to go on three different occasions under three different presidents is something to be happy about. It truly is an honor to be invited and I think all sports teams, whether they like, dislike, agree with, or disagree with the president, they should take the opportunity because, for all they know, it could be the last time they have that chance. 

The full statement can be found here.

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