President Donald Trump hosted the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles at the White House on Monday.
During the visit, he endorsed the Eagles’ most iconic — and most controversial — play: the tush push.
The play is facing a potential ban this year in the NFL after the Green Bay Packers proposed a rule change, as the Deseret News previously reported.
“I hope they keep that play, Coach (Nick Sirianni),” Trump said, per ESPN. “They’re talking about getting rid of that play, I understand. They should keep it. ... I like it. It’s sort of exciting and different.”
Sirianni thanked Trump for hosting the team and for his endorsement of the play.
The case for banning the ‘tush push’
While Trump may be a fan of the play, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is not.
He cited the risk it poses to players’ safety to explain his opposition in an interview with Front Office Sports.
“I think there are safety issues that are being considered,” Goodell said. “We have very little data from it, but it’s beyond data. There’s also the mechanism of the injury that we study, that type of thing, that leads us to show the risk involved with a particular play or a particular tackle.”
Front Office Sports reported that zero injuries occurred from the play last season.
While the tush push survived the annual owners meeting in March, it could be banned at the league’s meetings on May 20 and 21, according to Yahoo! Sports.
What happened at the Eagles’ White House visit
Quarterback Jalen Hurts was one of the Eagles players to miss the team’s Monday visit to the White House.
White House officials said it was the result of “scheduling conflicts,” according to ESPN.
Despite his absence, Trump praised Hurts’ performance in the Super Bowl and throughout last season, according to a video shared by The Associated Press on X.
“He had a great season and a great game. Finished with 32 touchdowns in the year, turning in one stellar performance after another. Terrific guy and a terrific player,” Trump said.
Prior to the team’s White House visit, running back Saquon Barkley golfed with the president at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Sunday, according to CNN.
He then flew to Washington on Air Force One with the president.
“I offered him a ride on Air Force One because I was coming down and usually they say, ‘No, no, I don’t think so.’ He said, ‘I’ll take it, sir.’ And he loved it and we loved being together,” Trump said, per ESPN. “He’s a great, young guy and an incredible football player.”
At the White House, Barkley was challenged by Trump’s grandson, Theodore Kushner, to a race in the White House Rose Garden.
Theodore’s mother, Ivanka Trump, shared a video of the race on social media. She said that it was the highlight of her day and thanked Barkley.