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Despite his well-documented friendship with President Donald Trump, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said he doesn't have an issue with his teammates skipping the team's White House visit. "Everybody has their own choice," Brady told PFT Live on Tuesday.
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After beating the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in Super Bowl LI, six Patriots players -- Martellus Bennett, LeGarrette Blount, Devin McCourty, Dont'a Hightower, Chris Long and Alan Branch -- said they would not attend the traditional White House celebration.
Brady did not make the trip to Washington D.C. for the Patriots' celebration of their Super Bowl XLIX victory over the Seattle Seahawks in 2015 when President Barack Obama was in office, citing a prior commitment.
"There's certain years, like a couple years ago, I wanted to go and didn't get the opportunity based on the schedule," Brady said. "We didn't get told until I think like 10 days before we were going, and at that point I had something I'd been planning for months and couldn't get there."
Brady attended White House celebrations following New England's championships in 2001, 2003 and 2004 under President George W. Bush. Brady also attended for Michigan's national title in 1997.
"It really is a great experience," Brady said. "Putting politics aside, it never was a political thing. At least, it never was to me. It meant you won a championship and you got to experience something cool with your team, with your teammates."
