Nelly Speaks On Patriots Players Skipping The White House: “Tom Brady Opened This Box”

Rapper Nelly visited the “Shannon (Sharpe) and Skip (Bayless) Undisputed” show on February 8th to discuss different  topics of sports, so of course the Superbowl win by the New England Patriots came up, Tom Brady, and the protests against Donald Trump.

Nelly discussed Martellus Bennett and Devin McCourty of the New England Patriots, and their decision to not visit the White House after winning Super Bowl LI. The players have openly said that they are opposed to the visit because of the controversial actions of  Trump. McCourty gave a statement to TIME about why he decided to not visit the White House.

“Basic reason for me is I don’t feel accepted in the White House,” McCourty wrote. “With the president having so many strong opinions and prejudices I believe certain people might feel accepted there while others won’t.”

On the show, Nelly had no problem speaking his mind and stating facts.

“I love Tom Brady and I’m not faulting his decision to skip the Obama White House visit, but he opened this box,” Nelly stated while serving as the “Undisputed” guest. “Tom Brady, we didn’t didn’t have a team vote when you were blatantly showing that you were supporting Trump… He took it to make a personal opinion,” he continued. “When you open that box, that box is open, you can’t put that lock on that box and say ‘now, we taking votes…’ You took that vote last year when you locked it out and said you weren’t going. That’s a done deal.”

In 2015, the Patriots visited the White House while Barack Obama was serving as President, and Brady did not show up with his team due to a “family commitment.” However, he was seen at Gillette Stadium that day “for a stretch of time,” and less than a day later, he was photographed in NYC looking at watches at the Apple Store.

“As a player, that’s not on me [to go to the White House],” Nelly said as he defended the players’ choice. “‘I did my job. Going to the White House, I don’t get paid for. I’m done, I did my job.’”

Other athletes who have declined invites to the White House include Michael Jordan during the George Bush administration, NASCAR driver Tony Stewart during Barack Obama’s tenure and Mark Chmura during the Bill Clinton era.

Full Show Clip below.