Fernando Mendoza didn't attend Indiana's White House visit, but called Trump: 'Big fan of ours'
WASHINGTON â 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 wouldnât be able to attend the event at the White House on Monday afternoon honoring IU football. âHeâs a big fan of ours, but you wouldnât believe it because he didnât show up,â Trump joked on the South Lawn. âIâm not happy, but thatâs OK, the reason he didn't is because heâs at spring trainingâŠlike his first day or something, I said you better go there.â After going No. 1 overall to Raiders, Mendoza told reporters in Las Vegas last week he wouldnât attend the event since it conflicted with his new teamâs 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 reportedly during the half hour-long ceremony. Trump called out for the likes of Pat Coogan and DâAngelo Ponds as he ran through the 2025 season, only to be told repeatedly the players werenât in attendance. âWhereâs DâAngelo?â Trump said as IU players yelled out training camp. âOh, I canât believe it. No wonder you won.â 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. Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar's Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza calls President Donald Trump, misses visit
Send this story to anyone â or drop the embed into a blog post, Substack, Notion page. Every play sends rev-share back to Yahoo Sports.