Did Bengals players ignore Vice President JD Vance during his visit to the team's practice Oct. 21?
A viral video shows Bengals players walking past Vance, with many appearing not to acknowledge him. Although one player, tight end Drew Sample, stopped to shake Vance's hand, no other players are seen interacting with the president in the 18-second video.
Another Enquirer video shows Vance greeting head coach Zac Taylor. Taylor Van Kirk, Vance's communications director, also posted a video showing Ja'Marr Chase complimenting JD Vance's son Vivek Vance's gloves.
A Vance spokesperson did not respond to questions about the video by publication.
Team was 'honored to welcome' Vance
Emily Parker, Bengals director of communications, provided a statement in response to questions about the video
and Vance's visit that said the Bengals "were honored to welcome Vice President JD Vance to practice" during his visit to Greater Cincinnati.
"This visit was consistent with and aligns with the club's longstanding practice of welcoming public officials from all political parties to team practices," the statement said.
What did Joe Burrow say?
During a post-practice press conference, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said he didn't interact with Vance during his visit. Burrow said team president Mike Brown told him at the beginning of practice Vance would visit.
Brown is a consistent donor to GOP candidates, including President Donald Trump.
"(Vance) came with everybody and left with swiftness and efficiency before the end of practice," Burrow said. "So I didn't get to."
Vance told reporters Oct. 21 that he loved that there were a "lot of people around" the practice.
"That's what I love about what I do," Burrow said, "is it brings a lot of people together and people wanna take time out of their day to come and watch what we do, watch what I do and watch all the work that I've put in and watch greatness."
Why did Vance visit?
Vance, from Middletown, Ohio, previously talked about being a Cincinnati Bengals fan.
Before his stop at the Bengals' practice, Vance campaigned for Republicansat a rally in Sharonville. He also appeared at the FBI field office in Sycamore Township alongside U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche to discuss SNAP fraud.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bengals 'honored' to host JD Vance amid viral video
