UPDATE, April 4, 2023, 12:15 p.m.: One day after she unintentionally set off a firestorm among sports fans, analysts, and members of the LSU women's basketball team, First Lady Jill Biden is changing her tune about inviting both the national champion Tigers and the team they beat to win the title, the Iowa Hawkeyes.
In a Twitter thread, Dr. Biden's press secretary, Vanessa Valdivia, wrote that the First Lady's remarks were meant to celebrate a landmark moment in women's sports.
"The First Lady loved watching the NCAA women's basketball championship game alongside young student athletes and admires how far women have advanced in sports since the passing of Title IX," Valdivia wrote. "Her comments in Colorado were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes. She looks forward to celebrating the LSU Tigers on their championship win at the White House."
Earlier on Tuesday, President Joe Biden invited the LSU Tigers women's basketball team and the UConn Huskies, the NCAA Division I men's national champions, to the White House. In a Twitter thread, President Biden did not mention Iowa or the men's runner-up, San Diego State University.
"In a year when March Madness often lived up to its name, both our women’s champions, @LSU, and men’s champions, @UConn, showed us the best of what this country can be," President Biden wrote. "We can all learn a lot from watching these champions compete — and I look forward to welcoming them at each of their White House visits."
President Biden also included a message for the LSU women's team and for LSU president Dr. William Tate, IV.
"Congrats to @LSUwbkb who demonstrated excellence on and off the court," President Biden tweeted. "They showed us what it looks like to win with an unrelenting belief in themselves. And they did it in one of the most-watched women's sports games in US history. You have an incredible school, @LSUpresident."
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ORIGINAL STORY, Monday, April 3, 2023, 9:30 p.m.: First Lady Jill Biden is facing pushback from members of the national champion LSU Women’s Basketball Team and members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation after she suggested that both the Tigers and the team they beat in the NCAA Division I Championship Game, Iowa, should both visit the White House following Sunday’s game.
“I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House, we always do. So, we hope LSU will come,” the Associated Press quoted Biden as saying during a press event in Denver. “But, you know, I’m going to tell Joe I think Iowa should come, too, because they played such a good game.”
While LSU head coach Kim Mulkey was diplomatic and said she and her team would visit the White House if invited, members of her team were quick to rebuke the First Lady’s statement.
Angel Reese, the Women’s Final Four’s most outstanding player, tweeted out a terse response.
“A JOKE,” Reese wrote, attaching three crying laughing emojis to her Tweet, which linked to ESPN’s article about Biden’s idea.
ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith also waded into the conversation, tweeting that he agreed with Reese.
“Hey @Reese10Angel, I mean absolutely zero disrespect to the First Lady, but you are 1000% correct,” Smith wrote. “That is a bad suggestion.
Runner-ups don’t get invited to the White House. Why are we trying to change it now? I completely agree with you, Angel.”
Reese’s teammate Alexis Morris seconded Reese’s tweet by calling on a former first lady to host the national champions.
Morris tweeted, “Michelle OBAMA can we (LSU NATIONAL CHAMPS) come celebrate our win at your house?”
Obama has not yet responded to Morris’s tweet, but two members of Congress from Louisiana have reacted to Reese’s initial tweet. Both Rep. Julia Letlow (R-Start) and Rep. Troy Carter (D-New Orleans) objected to Biden’s suggestion that LSU share the White House spotlight with Iowa.
“In #LA05, we’re proud of Tangipahoa Parish’s own, Coach @KimMulkey, and all that @LSUwbkb accomplished,” Rep. Letlow, whose district includes Mulkey’s hometown of Tickfaw, tweeted late Monday night. “Coach—if the @WhiteHouse insists on making you share the championship visit, we would be honored to celebrate your team at the Capitol!”
“Louisiana State University’s Women’s Basketball team won the 2023 NCAA Basketball championship and should enjoy their historic victory singularly,” Rep. Carter said in a statement. “With no disrespect to the outstanding players from Iowa, they did not win. The exceptional Louisiana (State University) Tigers are the indisputable winners of the championship, and this win is theirs and theirs alone. An invitation to the Iowa team would be at the expense of our Louisiana athletes.
“I know the First Lady meant no harm by commenting that the University of Iowa should also be invited to the White House, but her remark was an unintentional slight to the ladies of LSU and the citizens of Louisiana,” Carter continued. “I am respectfully requesting that these Louisiana champions enjoy the winner’s circle alone.”
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