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A day after cornerback Marlon Humphrey and three Ravens specialists met President Donald Trump at an event promoting a new submarine manufacturing facility in Sparrows Point, coach Jesse Minter said Wednesday that he didn’t consider the visit a “distraction.”
Trump acknowledged Humphrey, kicker Tyler Loop, punter Ryan Eckley and long snapper Nick Moore about 15 minutes into his speech at Tradepoint Atlantic, where weapons maker Anduril Industries announced plans to build a 2 million-square-foot shipyard that’s expected to create thousands of jobs.
The players’ appearance rankled some Ravens fans, as Trump had disparaged Baltimore in the past. Polling published earlier this year found that nearly two-thirds of Marylanders disapprove of the job Trump is doing.
“I think the guys have the right and the freedom to do it,” Minter said of the visit. “They’re representing themselves. They’re not necessarily representing the Ravens organization when they do stuff like that, or whatever the thoughts and the beliefs of the organization [are]. So guys doing that, having an opportunity to do that, that’s their own choice.”
Humphrey, who Loop said organized the visit, has been an outspoken defender of Trump on social media. But he said Wednesday after practice, “I don’t really have any political beliefs,” and that he couldn’t recall having ever voted. He said that when he tried to vote recently, he had problems with his absentee ballot.
“I do plan on voting the next time around,” he said. “I am extremely uninformed on what laws are going on, to be honest, but this next time the ballots are up, I will do my research and try to figure out what I like, what I believe in, and try to pick this side that kind of aligns with me.”
Humphrey, the longest-tenured player on the Ravens’ roster, said he was “pretty excited for the economy boom that could possibly come” from the high-tech shipyard. He shared footage on his X account Tuesday of himself riding in a vehicle at the event with Trump, along with Moore, but said Wednesday that he was largely unaware of the social media reaction to his visit.
“I was not going to turn down a ride with the president,” he said.
Loop told The Banner on Tuesday that it was “cool to meet a president.” He added after Wednesday’s practice that he relished the opportunity to “meet some of the nation’s finest in the U.S. Navy,” as his brother-in-law is an Air Force pilot.
“When you get a chance to go meet a sitting president of the United States, I respect the office of the president, so I didn’t want to pass up that chance to go shake a president’s hand,” Loop said.
Loop said Humphrey invited him and others to the event after a team meeting Monday. Loop said the invitation was “shared around a little bit,” but he wasn’t certain whether it was open to the entire team.
At the event, Trump said the 3-1 Ravens are “doing very well.” He complimented Moore’s long-snapping ability, asked the four Ravens to “say hello to your quarterback,” and called Lamar Jackson’s mother, whom he said he’d met a few times in Palm Beach, Florida, a “fantastic, beautiful woman.”
On Wednesday, the X account for Trump’s “War Room,” which has over 2.5 million followers, shared a photo of the players posing with Trump.
“They might play for the Ravens but they are also patriots,” the post said.
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