Tom Brady says a championship visit to the White House "was never a political thing." | Getty Tom Brady: 'Everybody has their own choice' on White House visit

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said “everybody has their own choice” on visiting the White House following the Patriots’ Super Bowl victory, but the visit “was never a political thing.”

Six Patriots have said they would not be visiting President Donald Trump at the White House. Defensive end Chris Long, running back LeGarrette Blount, tight end Martellus Bennett, safety Devin McCourty, linebacker Dont’a Hightower and defensive tackle Alan Branch will all sit out the visit, most in opposition to Trump.


“Everybody has their own choice,” Brady said in an interview posted Tuesday. “There’s certain years, like a couple years ago, I wanted to go and didn’t get the opportunity based on the schedule — 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 did not attend the White House visit after the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl for the 2014 season. He did visit the White House after the Patriots won the Super Bowl for the 2001, 2003 and 2004 seasons and when his Michigan team won the college football national championship 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.”

Patriots owner Robert Kraft is a personal friend of Trump's. The day before the election, Trump read a letter from Patriots coach Bill Belichick and said Tom Brady voted for him.

“It’s an offseason, these days are valuable for everybody,” Brady said. “You only get so much time with your family and friends, and if people don’t want to go, they don’t want to go, and that’s their choice.”

Although it is common for professional athletes to miss the White House visit, some of the Patriots who aren’t attending are speaking against the administration.

"Basic reason for me is I don't feel accepted in the White House,” McCourty said, as Time magazine reported . “With the president having so many strong opinions and prejudices I believe certain people might feel accepted there while others won't."

