Report: Eagles Owner Jeffrey Lurie Used Vulgarity to Call Trump’s Presidency ‘Disastrous’

It’s not often that the New York Times buries a quote of someone using vulgarity to disparage President Trump, but they did just that in a recent column about the Eagles upcoming trip to the White House.

Towards the end of an article which speculated about when the Philadelphia Eagles may choose to visit the White House, writers Ken Belson and Michael D. Shear tell of an audio recording of an exchange in September between a player, and Eagles Owner Jeffrey Lurie.

According to the Times:

Weeks after Mr. Trump attacked the league, several dozen owners, players and league executives met to discuss a plan to donate money to an array of groups fighting social injustice. At one point, a player said that it was difficult to trust the owners because they supported Mr. Trump.

Mr. Lurie took exception.

‘Another fact I want to throw out there: Many of us have no interest in supporting President Trump,’ Mr. Lurie said, according to a recording of the meeting obtained by The New York Times. ‘Yes, there are some. There are some players who do, too.

‘But this is not where you brandish a group of people because they own assets in a sport we love, supporting what many of us perceive as, you know, one disastrous presidency,’ he said, using a vulgarity to emphasize ‘disastrous,’ then adding: ‘Don’t quote me.’

The revelation of Lurie’s comments comes at an interesting time, since the Eagles are in fact planning a trip to the White House. Philadelphia had several prominent anthem protesters last year, among them, safety Malcolm Jenkins who led the players coalition in their meetings with the league.

Lurie supported Jenkins and other Eagles in their protest, and is also widely known to be one of the more liberal owners in the NFL. Jenkins, wide receiver Torrey Smith, and defensive end Chris Long, have already said that they will not attend the White House visit.

How many more Eagles might decline the trip is an open question. However, after these comments from Lurie, whether the invite to the White House still stands will become a question as well.

Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn