On Monday, Patriots defensive back Devin McCourty told TIME he, too, will skip the congratulatory trip. “I’m not going to the White House,” McCourty wrote in a text message to TIME from the team bus. “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.”
McCourty said he believed attending the event is a personal choice and “I can’t imagine a way I go there.”