North Dakota State Player Wore Democratic Socialists Pin To Meet Trump

Offensive lineman Jack Albrecht "wanted to make a statement," a Democratic Socialists of America official said.
LOADINGERROR LOADING

A North Dakota State University football player had a game plan for his team’s visit Monday to the White House: make a quiet statement.

So while backup offensive lineman Jack Albrecht was celebrating the school’s Football Championship Subdivision title with his teammates and President Donald Trump, he wore a Democratic Socialists of America pin on his jacket, The Hill reported.

Albrecht, a computer engineering major and member of the Red River Valley chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, shared several photos of himself wearing the pin on his lapel during the university’s visit to Washington. One image shows him standing near the president, who’s in the background.

Given Trump’s recent railing against socialism, the pin could have attracted some unwanted attention during the visit.

Championship teams are traditionally invited to the White House, but that has become a thorny issue since Trump took office. Last year, after several members of the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles made clear they wouldn’t be going to the White House, Trump disinvited the whole team. He also pre-emptively declared that the winner of the 2018 NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and eventual champ Golden State Warriors would not be welcome. A similar scenario occurred after the Warriors won the 2017 NBA title.

“Democratic socialism is for every worker on earth. You, me and 6-5, 275lb champion offensive linemen invited to the White House,” read a Facebook post from Albrecht’s chapter that night.

Albrecht “wanted to make a quiet statement,” chapter treasurer Zac Echola told The Washington Post. “We had a football player, and [he] wanted to quietly protest and wear a pin. We gave him one.”

The school said it would not comment and Albrecht told HuffPost on Thursday that he was “declining all media requests at this time.”

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot