After push from player, undefeated ’72 Dolphins to receive White House honor

Washington (CNN) – Four decades after they became the only NFL team so far to cap a perfect season with a Super Bowl win, the 1972 Miami Dolphins are headed to the White House on Tuesday.

“Marking the 40th anniversary of their Super Bowl victory seems appropriate, considering they won that Super Bowl at a time before NFL Super Bowl champions regularly visited the White House,” Deputy White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.

Former Dolphins tight end Marv Fleming has spent the past 15 years writing letters and talking to public officials trying to get some presidential attention for his old team.

“Every year, I’d see another team, somebody else going to the White House and not us,” Fleming said. “Why not us?”

Don Shula, coach of the 1972 team, shares his former player’s excitement.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Shula said on CNN. “It’s an honor and a privilege to be there and I’m sure all of the ’72 team that can make it health-wise are going to be there.”

But a few former Dolphins have told author and columnist Dave Hyde they won’t be attending.

In a recent column for Florida’s Sun Sentinel, Hyde, who’s also written two books about the undefeated Dolphins, quotes three members of the team saying they plan to skip the ceremony with President Barack Obama for political reasons.

They include center Jim Langer, Manny Fernandez, and left guard Bob Kuechenberg,

Fleming calls going to the White House another Super Bowl for him. He said the logjam broke when he talked about his quest with former Washington Redskins tackle George Starke. At the time, Starke’s wife Petra was a lawyer in the White House Counsel’s office.

Ironically, it was Starke’s Redskins who the Dolphins defeated in Super Bowl VII in January 1973.

Glad we live in a country where Langer, Fernandez, and Kuech can decide for themselves what to do with their time.

Me too.

Unfortunately, they will probably be viewed as racists for not agreeing with this president...

It's not about agreeing with the president -- it's about respecting the office. It's an honor to meet the president, no matter what your political beliefs are. Obviously they have the freedom to do what they please... personally, I think it makes them look like petulant, bitter old men. I'd say the same thing if Bush was in office too.

It's not about agreeing with the president -- it's about respecting the office. It's an honor to meet the president, no matter what your political beliefs are. Obviously they have the freedom to do what they please... personally, I think it makes them look like petulant, bitter old men. I'd say the same thing if Bush was in office too.

I'd probably do the same thing if I were them. And they aren't the only athletes that have bypassed a visit to the White House after winning a championship. We've seen it with some athletes on recent championship teams.

Can they be labeled as petulant, bitter old men as well?

The office of the Presidency deserves respect.

No matter what side it is, the effect is to erode the respect that the office deserves.

"Petulant.... young men" would work.

Respect is earned, not given.

When presidents do bad jobs, they lose the respect of the people. See Nixon, Bush or our current president.

Lately?

I seem to recall a lot of hateful, trashy political talk when the president had an R next to his name as well. Murderer, Bush lied, people died, kill Bush etc.

When you have presidents in the White House hiring prostitutes, illegally spying on their political enemies or getting head while on the phone with senators, that also helps erode the respect of the office.

This erosion has been going on for decades.

So you're saying that the disagreements these three former Dolphins have with President Obama are sudden and over trifling annoyances...

I guess, as an example, the erosion of personal liberty and privacy is a trifling annoyance to some...