The routine is familiar. The president makes a few bad jokes. The championship-winning team presents the leader of the free world with a personalized jersey. Everyone smiles for the cameras.

While presidents have been snubbed before, six players from the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots took it to another level by preemptively turning down an expected invitation from President Trump.

With the Patriots still in the midst of their Super Bowl celebration, tight end Martellus Bennett made it clear he had no intention of visiting Trump’s White House.

Five teammates — defensive back Devin McCourty, running back LeGarrette Blount, defensive end Chris Long, linebacker Dont’a Hightower and defensive tackle Alan Branch — quickly followed suit. Most pinned their decision on political differences with the Republican administration.

SNUBBING THE WHITE HOUSE

Since the tradition of inviting sports champions to the nation’s most famous home really began to take off under President Reagan, some two dozen athletes have turned down the opportunity.

That list includes Brady, who didn’t attend a 2015 celebration because of what the quarterback insisted was a “family commitment” but others speculated was because of some unflattering comments a spokesman for President Obama made about the Deflategate scandal.

For some, a trip to the White House was no big deal.

Larry Bird shrugged off an invitation from Reagan after the Boston Celtics won an NBA title, crabbily explaining, “If the president wants to see me, he knows where to find me.” After winning one of his six championships, Michael Jordan said he preferred to spend time with his family rather than hang with President George H.W. Bush. 

Others cited political differences with those in power in declining.

Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas declined to join the 2011 Stanley Cup champions on their White House visit, writing on social media that the government “has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People.”

HOW IT ALL STARTED

In 1865, not long after the end of the Civil War and before professional baseball was even a thing, President Andrew Johnson met with a pair of amateur teams, the Washington Nationals and Brooklyn Atlantics, according to the White House Historical Association. 

President Calvin Coolidge invited the hometown Senators for a visit after their dramatic seven-game victory in the 1924 World Series, which proved to be a prudent move. 

More teams would visit the White House in the years to come, but Mosher points to Richard Nixon as the first president who really pushed for a connection to athletes of all stripes, with some speculating that it was a way to make up for his failed football dreams. 

WHAT’S NEXT

Colin Kaepernick’s season-long protest against police brutality and abuses in the justice system seems to have sparked a new activism among professional athletes.

The quarterback’s simple act of kneeling during the national anthem “is very different than what I’ve studied in the past,” Mosher said. “He did it so politely, with so much respect. He wasn’t calling attention to himself. The story only became a story when people noticed it. That stood in stark contrast to the ranting and raving that the political campaign was putting in front of the American public.”

In Week 1 of the NFL season, Bennett raised his fist in a show of support.

Now that the season is over, he’s plunging into another fiery issue.

Given the divided state of the nation, more athletes are sure to follow.

No matter who’s in the White House.