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There were many feelings about and around the New England Patriots’ Super Bowl win this year. Some people said that watching the Patriots win in a stunning fourth-quarter comeback felt a lot like watching Donald Trump win the presidency on Election Night. The Pats’ win was especially politically-charged because Tom Brady was and is a Trump supporter, and Patriots coach Bill Belichick wrote a letter of support to Donald Trump shortly before Election Day. While it’s not shocking to learn that two white, super-privileged dudes would be Trump supporters, the Trump-association did taint everything about the Patriots in the lead-up to the Super Bowl and beyond. It’s also a problem when Trump’s Nazi champions, like Richard “Nazi Who Got Punched In the Face” Spencer was openly reveling in the Patriots’ win by saying it was a “victory for the AltRight” and calling Tom Brady an “Aryan Avatar.”

Now, all that being said, of course we know that many Patriots fans are big ol’ liberals and progressives. Hell, many within the Patriots organization are big ol’ liberals and progressives. Two of Tom Brady’s teammates have apparently chosen to NOT make the trip to the White House this year following their Super Bowl win. It’s tradition that the Super Bowl winners get to visit the White House, regardless of the president’s party and regardless of the political affiliations of the players/owners/coaches/fans. George W. Bush had Democratic athletes to the White House, and Barack Obama had Republican athletes to the White House. But two Patriots are like “nope” on Emperor Baby Fists.

It’s tradition for the team that wins the Super Bowl to visit the White House after their victory. But at least two members of the New England Patriots are turning down the invitation this year because of President Donald Trump.

“I’m not going to the White House,” the Patriots’ Devin McCourty told Time in a text message Monday. “Basic reason for me is I don’t feel accepted in the White House. With the president having so many strong opinions and prejudices I believe certain people might feel accepted there while others won’t.”

McCourty joined tight end Martellus Bennett, who confirmed on Sunday that he also would not make the White House trip, after first announcing his decision to skip it the week prior.

“It is what it is,” Bennett said after the Patriots’ victory, according to the Dallas Morning News. “People know how I feel about it.” Bennett has previously told reporters, “I don’t support the guy in the [White House].”

Bennett and McCourty’s decision to refuse an invite from the president diverges sharply from their organization’s most prominent white members. Quarterback Tom Brady, head coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft are all good friends with the Trump. In late 2015, Brady was filmed with Trump’s signature “Make America Great Again” in his locker.

Bennet and McCourty — both of whom are black — have engaged in political demonstrations before. They made headlines in October when they expressed solidarity with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who was protesting police violence against black people at the time by kneeling during the national anthem before games. The two Patriots players raised their fists in support during the song.

[From Mic.com]

Good for them. If it was a more traditional Republican administration, I might believe that this kind of boycott is little more than a symbolic gesture. But in the Brave New World of Baby Fists’ Fascist America, this needs to happen. It’s not enough to merely acknowledge that Donald Trump is an ignorant racist and a deplorable fascist – people need to also take pains to not engage with his bullsh-t. To engage with it is to normalize it.

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Photos courtesy of Getty.