Mendoza balks at White House visit over OTA conflict
Fernando Mendoza, the Las Vegas Raiders' No. 1 overall draft pick, said Saturday he might skip a White House visit with his former Indiana Hoosiers team due to a perceived conflict with his new NFL club's offseason schedule. The quarterback believed the team's planned May 11 trip coincided with the Raiders' first organized team activities, or OTAs. Raiders OTAs actually begin May 18, with no events scheduled for May 11.
Mendoza spoke at a Raiders news conference in Henderson, Nevada, following his selection in the 2026 NFL draft. He led Indiana to its first college football national championship and a perfect 16-0 record, the first such mark in modern college football history. The Hoosiers announced their White House celebration Friday.
Mendoza won the 2025 Heisman Trophy amid his standout senior season. Previous No. 1 overall quarterback picks Trevor Lawrence and Joe Burrow each visited then-President Donald Trump after their national titles, Lawrence in 2019 and Burrow in 2020.
"If it is on the first day of OTAs, like I said, I'm on the bottom of the totem pole here, I got to prove myself, I can't miss practice," Mendoza told reporters. "As a rookie, I don't think that's a good look. I want to try to best serve my teammates, and I don't think that would be accomplishing that goal." Attention now shifts to whether Mendoza joins the trip after learning the correct OTA dates.
