The New England Patriots have defended the amount of players who went to The White House to visit President Donald Trump, after their Super Bowl LI win.
It is the second time in three years the Patriots have had an audience with the American President. The New York Times published photos of those in attendance in 2015, compared to Wednesday's group.
Patriots' turnout for President Obama in 2015 vs. Patriots' turnout for President Trump today: https://t.co/OxMEOqZonI pic.twitter.com/pLmJWhOw1j
— NYT Sports (@NYTSports) April 19, 2017
The Super Bowl champions claimed the photos was "lacked context", adding that the staff were sitting on the lawn, compared to standing behind President Obama in 2015.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick are both known supporters of President Trump. Quarterback Tom Brady, who was previously spoken about his relationship with Trump was not in attendance on Wednesday.
Comparable photos: The last time the #Patriots won two Super Bowls in three years, 36 players visited the White House. Today, we had 34. pic.twitter.com/Aslvf1RaXU
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) April 20, 2017
Rob Gronkowski, one of the stars of the team interrupted White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer's daily briefing at one point, asking the 45-year-old if he needed help taking questions from the press.
.@RobGronkowski @Patriots “Need some help?” — GRONK at the White House, crashing @seanspicer's briefing 😂 @RobGronkowski @Patriots @PressSec pic.twitter.com/dSMwC4z28R
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) April 19, 2017
'Gronk' also revealed a picture with President Trump in The Oval Office, with the two men fist bumping.
A post shared by Rob Gronkowski (@gronk) on
