Over 30 players skipped the New England Patriots' visit to the White House to see President Donal Trump on Wednesday, and several players made a stand for political reasons.
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Defensive lineman Alan Branch was one of those players who skipped for political reasons, and he appeared on CNN to discuss his absence with Don Lemon.
Branch told Lemon he skipped the visit after hearing President Trump's lewd comments about women from 2005 that surfaced during the presidential campaign.
Branch said he's never heard anyone talk that way about women in his college or NFL locker rooms. He said if he heard someone talking that way near him, he'd be "shutting that down right now."
"So, I mean, it's just disgusting the way he talks about women," Branch said. "And I can't deal with it. And that's why I have no interest in going to shake his hand. I go back home and look my daughters in the eye and I don't want them to view me in a different light just because I did that."
Other players, such as Devin McCourty, Martellus Bennett and Chris Long also skipped the visit for similar reasons as Branch. Tom Brady didn't attend either, but he said it was for "family reasons."
(h/t CBS Sports)
