A Super Bowl XLVII victory for Matt Birk and the Baltimore Ravens meant an invitation to the White House.  A few days before Matt received the invitation, President Obama addressed Planned Parenthood.  Matt spoke regarding that address and the invitation saying, “What really got me was at the end of his speech he said, ‘God Bless Planned Parenthood.’  That’s impossible.  With Over 300,000 deaths a year, you just can’t say that.  It upset me.  A couple days later the invitation came in the mail and I thought, ‘You know what, I really don’t feel like going’ and I just declined.  I checked the no box and didn’t intend to make any type of issue out of it.  But when I wasn’t there, some media saw that and called me and asked me why not.  So I told them why I didn’t go.  It was because of my Faith and my pro-life conviction, but ultimately because of my kids.  I want to not just talk about my Faith, I want to live it out, too.  A few years ago some of the older ones, they’re aware of Planned Parenthood and what occurs there, so I wanted to set the example for them and be a Dad they can be proud of.”

Hailing from St. Paul Minnesota, the Harvard grad was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 1998.  He was a 6 time Pro-Bowl center over the course of 15 seasons (11 with Minnesota and 4 with Baltimore).  He was named the 2011 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year for his excellence on and off the field.