WASHINGTON — Former Indiana football quarterback Fernando Mendoza RSVP’d directly to the White House.
According to President Donald Trump, Mendoza called the President last week to tell him he wouldn’t be able to attend the event at the White House on Monday afternoon honoring IU football.
“He’s a big fan of ours, but you wouldn’t believe it because he didn’t show up,” Trump joked on the South Lawn. “I’m not happy, but that’s OK, the reason he didn’t is because he’s at spring training…like his first day or something, I said you better go there.”
After going No. 1 overall to Raiders, Mendoza told reporters in Las Vegas last week he wouldn’t attend the event since it conflicted with his new team’s offseason training schedule.
“I believe May 11 is the first day of OTAs,” Mendoza said. “I don’t have the calendar. If it is on the first day of OTAs, I’m at the bottom of the totem poll, I’ve got to prove myself. I can’t miss practice. As a rookie I don’t think that’s a good look and I want to best serve my teammates. I don’t know if I’d be accomplishing that goal.”
Indiana waited until after spring practice wrapped up to schedule the visit to Washington D.C. but the timing of the event made it difficult for many former players to attend. The eight Hoosiers who were drafted last month are all in the midst of getting acclimated with their new teams and none of them made it to the event, a fact that came up repeatedly during the half hour-long ceremony.
Trump called out for the likes of Pat Coogan and D’Angelo Ponds as he ran through the 2025 season, only to be told repeatedly the players weren’t in attendance.
“Where’s D’Angelo?” Trump said as IU players yelled out training camp. “Oh, I can’t believe it. No wonder you won.”
Indiana presented Trump with a No. 47 Indiana jersey along with a helmet and football. The President promised players a tour of the oval office before they made the return trip home.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Fernando Mendoza called Trump ahead of Indiana football’s White House visit
Reporting by Michael Niziolek, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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