Penguins show support for Trump, will visit the White House with Stanley Cup

The Pittsburgh Penguins officially addressed the “elephant in the room” this weekend when they announced that they will in fact accept an invitation from President Donald Trump to attend the White House for a Stanley Cup visit. 

The short statement from the team’s PR staff defended the longstanding tradition of championship teams visiting the White House and looked like an attempt to avoid politicizing the event… unfortunately the opposite seems to have transpired for the team. Pro athletes, particularly in the NFL, have been vocal in their criticism of President Trump in the past week, making sports and politics a hot button issue. Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler slammed the President this past weekend for his words about NFL star Colin Kaepernick and his national anthem protest.

What do you think? Are the Penguins right to ignore all the noise and accept the invite? Or, are they in a position to make a stand? Do you like it when pro athletes step up to take on political causes? Or are you the kind of person that doesn’t like politics mixed with sport? Divided times… that’s for sure.