More New England Patriots Players Boycotting Trump Visit

Martellus Bennett and Devin McCourty won't be visiting the White House anytime soon.

Martellus Bennett (88) breaks up the room
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Martellus Bennett (88) breaks up the room as he is being interviewed by teammate New England Patriots free safety Devin McCourty

Martellus Bennett (88) breaks up the room

UPDATED, 2/9/17, 12:30 p.m. ET:

Martellus Bennett and Devin McCourty aren't the only Patriots players planning on skipping out on the team's visit to the White House after winning the Super Bowl.

On Wednesday, linebacker Dont'a Hightower revealed that he's going to skip it, too.

And on Thursday, after the New York Daily News published an open letter calling for defensive end Chris Long to "stand up to Trump" and join his teammates in boycotting the White House, he took to Twitter to reveal that he had already made the decision not to go prior to the piece going up.

On Thursday afternoon, LeGarrette Blount pulled out as well during an interview on The Rich Eisen Show:

See original story below.

While the New England Patriots were able to overcome a massive deficit to win Super Bowl LI, controversy surrounded the team because of the fact that their star player, coach, and owner were all pals with Donald Trump—something POTUS was eager to let the world know.

But not everyone on the team is a fan of 45. Tight end Martellus Bennett and free safety Devin McCourty have both announced that they will be skipping their team's visit to the White House. The two players, both African-American, have made political statements before. Earlier in the season, they raised their fists after the national anthem to show their support for Colin Kaepernick's now-famous protests against racist police violence.

After the big game, Bennett was the first to speak. He told the Dallas Morning News about his decision, "It is what it is. People know how I feel about it." 

The following day, McCourty sent a text to TIME announcing his decision to join his teammate. "I'm not going to the White House," he wrote. "Basic reason for me is I don't feel accepted in the White House. With the president having so many strong opinions and prejudices I believe certain people might feel accepted there while others won't."

So far, no other Patriots have announced their decisions to skip the trip to D.C. If any do, we'll be sure to keep you posted.

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