Danny Amendola deletes tweet thanking President Trump for 'shout out'
When you’ve got a controversial Super Bowl-winning team meeting a controversial president, you can expect a few fireworks from the grandstands, and that’s exactly what happened on Wednesday when the New England Patriots visited the White House to meet President Donald Trump.
During the ceremony — which quarterback Tom Brady did not attend, and which was held under the cloud of the suicide of former Patriot Aaron Hernandez — Trump singled out Pats receiver Danny Amendola:
Trump shouts out Danny Amendola, who wasn't at White House, and says, "Where's Danny?" Edelman doesn't help POTUS. pic.twitter.com/skkQDXMlMx
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) April 19, 2017
One problem: Amendola wasn’t in attendance. He had indicated he would be attending the funeral of a friend. But when he tweeted his gratitude to President Trump, he was in the gym:
“Thanks for the shout out @realDonaldTrump!” Amendola tweeted. “in the GYM! Funeral service for my boy Jaimie Carrillo tonight! RIP-JC.”
Amendola later deleted the tweet amid criticism. (Twitter being snap-judgment critical? That NEVER happens!) Several other Patriots declined to attend because of political reasons, and many singled out Amendola for not doing so … even though a funeral seems like a reasonable excuse.
The Patriots and Trump. Two stories that just never end.
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.