On Tuesday morning, Fox News ran a piece it then tweeted out, about President Donald Trump's disinviting the Eagles to the White House "due to the national anthem controversy."
As the anchor delivers the story, images of Eagles players are shown on screen. The first three photos are of players Zach Ertz, Corey Clement and Jordan Matthews kneeling — but they're praying before games, not kneeling during the national anthem. The fourth is of Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod raising their fists during the national anthem, while Chris Long puts his arm around Jenkins.
Ertz and Long responded on their personal Twitter accounts and accused the outlet of pushing the president's agenda with false information.
This can't be serious.... Praying before games with my teammates, well before the anthem, is being used for your propaganda?! Just sad, I feel like you guys should have to be better than this... https://t.co/kYeyH2zXdK
— Zach Ertz (@ZERTZ_86) June 5, 2018
Imagine wanting to please the boss so very badly that you run stills of guys knelt down PRAYING during pregame. Not one Eagles player knelt for the anthem this yr. Keep carrying his water to sow division while misrepresenting Christian men. Aren't many of your viewers.. nevermind https://t.co/QdlOvL0btq
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) June 5, 2018
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In his statement on Monday, Trump insinuated that members of the Eagles did not "proudly stand for the anthem." During the 2017 season, every member of the Eagles stood during the anthem. In the preseason, veteran corner Ron Brooks did kneel, but he didn't make the roster for the regular season.
Here's the piece from Fox News:
President @realDonaldTrump says Philadelphia @Eagles won't attend @WhiteHouse ceremony amid national anthem dispute https://t.co/QOOUCg68Gd pic.twitter.com/CRHsoE6ArX
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 5, 2018
Fox News issued a correction in a series of tweets late Tuesday morning and apolgized "for the error."
"During our report about President Trump canceling the Philadelphia Eagles trip to the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl win, we showed unrelated footage of players kneeling in prayer." (1 of 2)— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 5, 2018
"To clarify, no members of the team knelt in protest during the national anthem throughout regular or post-season last year. We apologize for the error." -Christopher Wallace, Executive Producer of FOX News @ Night with Shannon Bream (2 of 2)— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 5, 2018
And here's exactly when each photo shown was taken.
The first photo shown isn't even from last season, it shows Jordan Matthews, who was traded by the Eagles prior to the 2017 season.
The second photo, showing Zach Ertz and Corey Clement was taken before the Eagles played the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017. Long is seen running in the background and was later photographed during the anthem with his arm around Jenkins. This photo could not have been taken during the national anthem.
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The third photo is of Zach Ertz from Nov. 26, 2017, kneeling before the game against the Chicago Bears. This photo was taken before the game and not during the anthem.
The final photo shows Long, Jenkins and McLeod standing on the field during the anthem.
The Eagles will not be going to the White House on Tuesday. Instead, they will be holding a light OTA practice as the NovaCare Complex.