The Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals (team captain Alex Ovechkin accepts trophy in photo) are still savoring their National Hockey League title, but Newsweek writer Dan Cancian is creating doubt about whether or not the team will visit the White House. Cancian's story cited one player on the Washington team who said he will not visit the president.
The Associated Press reported Friday that "President Donald Trump said Friday he expects to welcome the hometown Washington Capitals hockey team to the White House for winning the Stanley Cup. But he adds: "If they don't want to be here, I don't want them." The team hasn't officially commented yet, but one player vows not to go if the team does receive an invitation.
Devante Smith-Pelly, who's black, plays right wing for the Capitals, but his politics are definitely left-wing. The scorer of 40 career goals made derogatory comments about President Trump and counted himself out of any upcoming White House celebration. Cancian picked up Smith-Pelley's comment from a tweet by Michael Traikos, hockey writer for Postmedia News:
“The things that he spews are straight-up racist and sexist. Some of the things he’s said are pretty gross … It hasn’t come up here, but I think I already have my mind made up.”
Cancian didn't mention any other member of the Caps' organization commenting on whether or not to attend a White House celebration. He wrote: "As such, the team is expected to receive an invitation to make the short trip over to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Whether they’ll attend remains to be seen; they are yet to publicly comment on the matter." Yes, that casts a lot of doubt on a team celebration with Trump!
Also, the Newsweek report mentions that Washington's owner has financially supported Democrat politics and the story brought up last week's cancellation of the Super Bowl champion Eagles' planned visit with President Trump.
Ted Leonsis, the owner of the Capitals, hosted a 2016 campaign fundraiser for Hillary Clinton and sharply criticized Trump’s views on illegal immigration. "However, it is worth remembering that the Pittsburgh Penguins visited the White House last year, even though co-owner Ron Burkle had raised millions for the Clintons," Cancian wrote.
Leonsis said the Caps will appear in a huge championship parade, "but remained tight-lipped over the prospect of a potential presidential visit," according to Cancian.
With no indication either way on a White House visit, Cancian is already anticipating the possibility of Trump snubbing the team:
"While the NHL does not enjoy the same profile of the NFL and the NBA, the impact of a snub from the Capitals would reverberate well beyond the hockey world for at least two reasons.
"First and foremost, the Capitals are based just a mile from the White House and are the first team to bring a major title back to Washington for the first time since 1992. Second, the NHL is still an almost totally white league, which has so far escaped the criticism Trump has aimed at the more diverse NFL and at the NBA.
"Presidential visits by championship-winning teams have become a major source of debate since Trump was elected."
Last week, Cancian points out, LeBron James and Stephen Curry said neither NBA Finals team would accept an invitation to visit the White House. Cancian did not say that James, Curry and Golden State Coach Steve Kerr have all criticized Trump (some with vulgarity) and contributed more than their share to an icy relationship between the president and the Warriors and Cavaliers. "I know no matter who wins this series, no one wants an invite anyway,” James said last week Tuesday. “It won't be Cleveland or Golden State going.”
What does this have to do with the Caps, a team with no history of animosity with the president? Cancian said, "James’s comments came only a few days after Trump rescinded the invitation for Super Bowl LII winners Philadelphia Eagles after learning that many of the players did not plan to attend."
Summing up, Cancian could only find one member of the entire Washington Capitals' organization promising not to go anywhere near President Trump. He padded his non-story with innuendo and rabbit trails.
