Penguins president says team would visit the White House if invited

The Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins will most definitely visit the White House if given an invitation by the Trump administration.

“The Pittsburgh Penguins would never turn down a visit to the White House and, if invited, we would go as a team,” team CEO/president David Morehouse said in a statement Tuesday via The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Morehouse worked with Bill Clinton’s administration in the 1990s and on Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign. But much like the Clemson Tigers, who felt politics were irrelevant and the visit was a celebration of the team’s triumphs, the Penguins organization would treat the invitation as an honor.

“We respect the presidency of the United States and what it stands for,” Morehouse said. “Any opposition or disagreement with a president’s policies, or agenda, can be expressed in other ways.”

The news comes as the Golden State Warriors announced uncertainty on whether the team would accept a potential White House invitation. Warriors coach Steve Kerr and star Steph Curry, among other team members, have publicly spoken out against President Trump.

The tradition of sports teams visiting the White House dates to the 1800s. The Super Bowl champion New England Patriots were the first title team to visit the White House under the Trump administration back in April.

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