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Despite the offer of a meaningful visit to the White House, a treat the 1972 undefeated Super Bowl Champion Miami Dolphins never received, some of the team’s former members have displayed a hatred toward President Obama and have refused to attend the ceremony.  It is certainly the first I have ever heard of a team or a player refusing a White House invitation purely for opposing political views.  The White House visit is a cherished ritual among the NFL Championship teams, so this is just another image disaster for the league with some of these players more than happy to admit publicly that they don’t even want to be in the same room with the President.

“We’ve got some real moral compass issues in Washington,” former center Jim Langer told the paper. “I don’t want to be in a room with those people and pretend I’m having a good time. I can’t do that. If that [angers] people, so be it.”   Bob Kuechenberg, the starting left guard on the ’72 team, echoed Langer’s opinion, saying, “I want to be careful, because mom said if you have nothing good to say about someone, then don’t say anything. I don’t have anything good to say about someone.

“I don’t belong there, I’ll tell you that,” Kuechenberg continued. “Without being critical, I can just tell you I don’t belong. It would be hypocritical of me to be there. I don’t want to do that. I just don’t believe in this administration at all. So I don’t belong. Anyone on the left or the right has to respect one man’s opinion.”   Defensive tackle Manny Fernandez took a more simplified approach, telling the Sun-Sentinel, “I’ll just say my views are diametrically opposed to the president’s. Enough said. Let’s leave it at that. I hope everyone enjoys the trip who goes.”

Unbelievable rhetoric from some guys who played football and achieved a huge accomplishment in finishing the 1972 season undefeated, a feat that has yet to be repeated, and some 41 years later, the only rationale for not attending is their utter dislike for the President of the United States.  Surely we have all had President’s we didn’t necessarily like, or agree with, but we have always respected the Office of the Presidency, no matter who was sitting in it.