Two days after President Donald Trump cancelled the Eagles' White House visit, Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins issued his response without saying a word.
Jenkins met with reporters at his locker on Wednesday, but he didn't answer any questions with his words. Instead, Jenkins held up a series of signs that appeared to be handwritten and homemade. The signs seemingly tried to clarify what the players have been protesting over the past couple seasons.
When a reporter asked if he was going to say anything today, Jenkins held up a sign that said, "You aren't listening."
Instead of speaking, Malcolm Jenkins holds up signs at his locker to get his message across. pic.twitter.com/mg9JdhFgYZ
— Sheil Kapadia (@SheilKapadia) June 6, 2018
Another sign said, "Chris Long gave his entire year's salary to educational initiatives." (Story)
Another said, "Colin Kaepernick gave $1 million to charity." (Story)
Another said, "Devin McCourty, Duron Harmon, Matt Slater, and Johnson Bademosi lobbied to raise the age from 7 to 12 entering the criminal justice system." (Story)
Malcolm Jenkins responded to questions today by holding up a series of signs. He did not speak. Here are a few. pic.twitter.com/I01lfMwVgq
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) June 6, 2018
There were more.
You Aren’t Listening! pic.twitter.com/5ti8HU2Cq0
— Malcolm Jenkins (@MalcolmJenkins) June 6, 2018
You Aren’t Listening! pic.twitter.com/41llVxwDEq
— Malcolm Jenkins (@MalcolmJenkins) June 6, 2018
Jenkins, who has been a member of the Eagles since 2014 and has long been a critic of Trump, has criticized the NFL's new policy that prohibits players from kneeling/sitting on the field during the anthem, and joined Kaepernick's protest against racial injustice. While Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem as his form of protest, Jenkins raised his fist. Eventually, Jenkins stopped raising his fist near the end of the 2017 season after the NFL pledged to donate $89 million to charities related to the issues that were being raised by the protesting players.
After the Eagles won the Super Bowl in February, Jenkins said he would not attend the Eagles' celebratory visit to the White House.
Philadelphia Eagles star Malcolm Jenkins says he intends to skip the team's upcoming visit to the White House to commemorate their Super Bowl victory https://t.co/l0GhR7jev7 pic.twitter.com/mIDgaCuPtt
— CNN (@CNN) February 5, 2018
In May, the Eagles and the White House scheduled the visit for Tuesday, June 5. According to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, fewer than 10 players planned to visit the White House. On Monday night, Trump cancelled the visit via a statement released by the White House, which marked the second time in less than a year that Trump has rescinded a White House invitation for a professional sports team after he disinvited the Golden State Warriors last September.
The Eagles' team response didn't include a mention of Trump or the White House. Eagles players, however, have commented directly on the matter. They were quick to point out that nobody on the team kneeled during the national anthem this past season. In addition to Jenkins' handwritten comments on Wednesday, Eagles tight end Zach Ertz said that the issue won't divide the locker room because they have too much "love and respect."
"Nothing is going to be able to tear this locker room apart," he said, per Garafolo.