Patriots Defend Team Turnout at White House Visit

The New England Patriots celebrated their Super Bowl LI victory by attending the White House on Wednesday.

Along with quarterback Tom Brady backing out at the last moment because of "personal family matters," Martellus Bennett, LeGarrette Blount, Chris Long, Alan Branch and Devin McCourty, among others, decided not to go.

The New York Times posted photos of New England's 2015 White House visit during President Barack Obama's second term to their recent trip hosted by President Donald Trump: 

The Patriots clarified the contrast on Twitter:

They added that 34 players attended Wednesday's visit compared to 36 in 2005.

Trump called out the "failing" New York Times:

Per Colin Campbell of Yahoo News, a New York Times editor apologized for the tweet:

As long as the Patriots don't start calling their 34-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons one of the biggest blowouts in NFL history.

[Twitter]