Winning the Super Bowl was just the start for the Philadelphia Eagles. They hosted a parade in their city on Thursday (Feb. 8), widely believed to be one of the most epic championship celebrations of all-time. Now they have an offseason of relaxation and satisfaction ahead of them. But the same controversy that dogged recent championship teams in other sports promises to follow them into the spring as well.

It's tradition for the champions of the major sports to visit the White House. The Super Bowl champions will now have to decide whether or not they want to do the same - and some have already come down on one side or the other.

A report by ESPN was used as a resource for most of the information in this article.

Super Bowl struggle

Being the last team standing at the end of a grueling NFL season should be rewarding. The White House controversy has made that an impossibility, though. Many members of the Super Bowl champion Eagles have protested during the national anthem, an action that has been derided by President Donald Trump in the past. It should come as little surprise, then, that many of the team members are not interested in making a trip to Washington.

So far, at least three Eagles have declared their intentions not to go to the White House: safety Malcolm Jenkins, wide receiver Torrey Smith, and defensive end Chris Long.

All three are members of the Players Coalition, a group set up to put money and activity into social causes in conjunction with the NFL. Jenkins was one of the first players to begin raising his fist during the anthem in 2016. Smith raised his fist too. Long has actively supported protesting teammates and donated his entire season's salary to charity and various causes.

For those reasons, the Super Bowl champs might not even get an invite from President Trump.

White House whiplash

President Trump has shown no love for protesting players. In fact, he's made some rather condescending and threatening comments towards those in the NFL who, in the eyes of some, are disrespecting the flag. President Trump has expressed a clear desire that those protesters should lose their right to play in the league.

Of course, when members of the champion Golden State Warriors of the NBA wavered on going to the White House - particularly Steph Curry - President Trump lashed out, rescinding the invitation. Since then, every championship has become a referendum on whether the tradition can persist with such a decisive figure at the head of the country.

The Super Bowl champs still have time to decide the best course of action. The White House may be poised to make the decision for them, though.