Cardinals safety Hamza Abdullah and Vikings safety Husain Abdullah have been excused from their teams today as they travel to Washington to be guests at a White House dinner.
The Abdullah brothers were invited to tonight’s Iftar dinner to celebrate the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
“I’m still in shock over it,” Hamza Abdullah told the Arizona Republic. “I’m still waiting to get to the airport and they say, ‘OK, it’s fake.’”
The invitation comes a year after the Abdullah brothers gained national attention for fasting during daylight hours throughout Ramadan, which meant going through grueling training camp practices in the August heat without drinking any water.
Hamza will fly from Phoenix to Washington today, visit the White House and then fly to Oakland to play in the Cardinals’ preseason game against the Raiders on Thursday. Husain will return to Minnesota after the dinner to prepare for the Vikings’ preseason game at Tennessee on Saturday.