The routine is familiar. The president makes a few bad jokes. The championship-winning team presents the leader of the free world with a personalized jersey. Everyone smiles for the cameras.
Nothing political about that, right?
Not exactly.
In a divided nation, everything is political.
While presidents have been snubbed before, six players from the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots took it to another level by preemptively turning down an expected invitation from President Trump.
Rest assured, they won't be the last to mix sports and politics.
''The balance of power in professional sports now rests more with the performers than the owners,'' said Stephen Mosher, a professor of sports management and media at Ithaca College.