Will the LSU Tigers finally be going to the White House?
Despite the controversy surrounding First Lady Jill Biden’s comments, the NCAA women’s basketball champions, LSU, have finally agreed to follow sporting tradition.
After the First Lady appeared to break with precedent by inviting the losing team to the White House, a war of words ignited. Now that tempers have cooled, it appears that the winners will in fact be accepting the invitation for the traditional White House visit.
LSU to visit White House after all
According to reports, the LSU women’s basketball team will in fact be accepting President Joe Biden’s invitation to visit the White House following their national championship victory. There was initially some doubt as to whether the Tigers would follow through with the privilege reserved for national champions after First Lady, Jill Biden, suggested that she’d like to invite runner-up Iowa as well. Indeed, Biden’s comments sparked a massive online debate, with many considering it to be a slight towards the winning team. To that extent even LSU’s star player, Angel Reese, called the idea a “joke” on social media.
What came next, was an apparent clarification of the First Lady’s position from her press secretary who explained that it was simply a misunderstanding. Of course many questioned if Reese herself would be in attendance, however, on Friday, the MVP of the Final Four cleared the air. “I’m a team player,” Reese said. “I’m gonna do what’s best for the team. I’m the captain, so I’m gonna go.”
How did LSU feel about Jill Biden’s comments
It was clear from the get-go that LSU and particularly Reese were not pleased with Jill Biden’s suggestion that Iowa should also be in attendance at the White House. Yet, Reese did admit that given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in front of them, they simply had to accept the invitation regardless of emotion.
“At the beginning of it, we were hurt,” Reese said. “It was emotional for us because we know how hard we worked all year for everything. Just being able to see that, it hurt us in the moment, but you don’t get that experience ever. Being able to go, I know my team wants to go for sure, and my coach is supportive of that. I’m gonna do what’s best for the team. If they would like to go, and we decide we’re gonna go, then we’re gonna go.”