Daniel Penny to Attend Army-Navy Game at JD Vance’s Invitation

Daniel Penny, a former Marine, has accepted an invitation from Vice President-elect and Marine Corps veteran J.D. Vance to attend the Army-Navy football game this Saturday in Maryland.

Earlier this week, a New York jury acquitted Penny of criminally negligent homicide in the case involving the death of Jordan Neely on a New York subway.

On May 1, 2023, Penny, 26, restrained Neely in a chokehold after witnesses reported Neely threatening to kill passengers on the train.

“Daniel’s a good guy, and New York’s mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone,” Vance posted Friday on X (formerly Twitter).

“I’m grateful he accepted my invitation [to attend the Army-Navy game] and hope he’s able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage,” Vance continued.

High-Profile Attendees at the Game

CBS News noted that Penny will join a notable group at the game, including President-elect Donald Trump, billionaire Elon Musk, Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Pennsylvania Senator-elect David McCormick.

The game will take place at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, home to the NFL’s Washington Commanders, where Trump will host the group in a suite.

McCormick, a West Point graduate from the Class of 1987 and an Army veteran, will attend alongside Hegseth and DeSantis, who served in the Army and Navy, respectively.

Since the Marine Corps operates under the Department of the Navy, it’s expected that both Vance and Penny will be cheering for a Navy victory.

A Storied Rivalry

This year marks the 125th game in the historic Army-Navy rivalry, which began in 1890.

Navy leads the all-time series with 62 wins to Army’s 55, alongside seven ties. However, Army has been dominant in recent years, winning three of the last four matchups.

This year, No. 19 Army (11-1) is slightly favored by 6.5 points over Navy (8-3), though rivalry games are notoriously unpredictable. The last three contests have all been decided by a touchdown or less, including last year’s dramatic finish, where Army’s defense stopped Navy at the goal line in the final moments.

A Historic Season for Both Teams

For the first time since the 1960s, both Army and Navy were ranked earlier this fall.

Army, which has largely operated as an independent program since its inception, celebrated a milestone last weekend by winning its first-ever conference title, defeating Tulane (9-4) to secure the American Athletic Conference championship.