Eagles Player From Piscataway Won't Attend White House Ceremony

PISCATAWAY, NJ — He may bleed green, but there's no way this prominent Eagles player will step foot in the White House.

Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, who is originally from Piscataway, NJ, told CNN Monday morning he will likely skip the traditional White House ceremony honoring the Super Bowl winners.

“I personally do not anticipate attending that,” Jenkins told New Day anchor John Berman.

Football fans in Central New Jersey likely know Malcolm Jenkins: He got his start playing high school football for Piscataway Township High School, where he led the team to three consecutive state championships. He was born in East Orange, and attended Ohio State.

President Trump congratulated the Eagles for their first-ever Super Bowl win on Twitter Sunday night, but has not yet announced if the annual White House ceremony will occur.

Berman asked Jenkins if he has any message for President Trump.

“I don’t have a message for the president,” Jenkins said. “My message has been clear all year. I’m about creating positive change in the communities that I come from. Whether it be Philadelphia, New Jersey, Ohio, Louisiana, or this entire country, I want to see changes in our criminal justice system. I want to see us push for economical and educational advancement in communities of color and low-income communities. And I want to see our relationships between our communities and our law enforcement be advanced. That’s what myself and my peers have been pushing for the last two years. And that’s what I will continue to do.”

Jenkins is not only a respected player on the Eagles, he's also very outspoken when it comes to social activism: While he did not kneel during the 2017 season, Jenkins did raise his fist when the National Anthem played, to protest social injustice. He also led the Player's Coalition, which was a group of NFL players who met with league owner Roger Goodell to address the concerns of those who kneel.

Jenkins stopped raising his fist in December, after the NFL announced it would donate nearly $100 million for social justice causes. He also wrote this o-ed for the Washington Post: What protesting NFL players like me want to do next

Photo of Malcolm Jenkins by Eric Gay/The Associated Press