Despite her best efforts, WNBA icon, South Carolina basketball coach and noted Philadelphia Eagles fan Dawn Staley will not be attending Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans on Sunday.
The three-time Olympic gold medalist and Philadelphia native hoped to fly in for the game, but as she revealed this week, airspace around the city is closed due to the anticipated arrival of President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One. Per Federal Aviation Administration rules, airspace is always limited whenever the President is flying nearby.
The second-ranked Gamecocks are in action against No. 4 Texas on Sunday at 2pm EST, which would have given Staley just enough time to catch a private flight from Austin to New Orleans before the 6:30pm kickoff.
‘And I’m not going to the Super Bowl; Trump is going to be at the Super Bowl so they closed the airspace,’ Staley told reporters Wednesday, as quoted by the Greenville News.
Staley didn’t seem too bothered, however. While she isn’t going to the game, she did tell reporters: ‘Party here though.’
As for a prediction, Staley understandably sees her Eagles beating the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
Head coach Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks, wearing a Mitchell & Ness Philadelphia Eagles jacket, greets opponents before a game in January
WNBA icon, South Carolina basketball coach and noted Philadelphia Eagles fan Dawn Staley will not be attending Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans on Sunday
President Donald Trump will reportedly attend Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans this weekend
‘Rest assured, my Eagles fans,’ Staley said. ‘We got this one… Just remember, when the clock strikes zero, we will be winners.’
Trump will be a guest of honor of New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson at Super Bowl LIX Sunday.
The news of her invitation to Trump comes just one day after the sex-abuse scandal engulfing the Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans again encroached on the NFL’s Saints.
As reported by The Associated Press, more than 300 internal emails have now shed light on the Saints’ role in protecting the local Archdiocese , which allegedly protected suspects credibly accused of abusing children.
Specifically, devout Catholic Benson is seen offering up the team’s senior vice president of communications to the local Archdiocese to help navigate the scandal in 2018.
The emails obtained by AP sharply undercut assurances the Saints gave fans about the public relations guidance five years ago when they asserted they had provided only ‘minimal’ assistance to the church. The team went to court to keep its internal emails secret.
Trump’s attendance is expected to have an impact on security in New Orleans. While the Big Easy isn’t new to hosting big football events, the city was rocked by the New Year’s Eve terror attack on Bourbon Street.
‘Extensive planning and coordination have been in place to ensure the safety of all attendees, players, and staff,’ Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement, via Front Office Sports.
‘Security measures have been further enhanced this year, given that this will be the first time a sitting President of the United States will attend the event.’
Trump, who attended college football games between Alabama and Georgia, and Navy versus Army this past season, is also set to record an interview with Bret Baier of Fox News, which will air during pregame coverage.
In 2002, George H. W. Bush – at the time a former president and father of the sitting commander-in-chief, George W. Bush – took part in the coin toss before the Patriots beat the Rams 20-17. He and wife Barbara also handled the coin toss duties at Super Bowl LI on February 5, 2017.
