LSU’s Angel Reese and UConn’s Tristen Newton soon could be celebrating their national championship wins at the White House.
Runner-ups will not be invited to the White House after all.
First Lady Jill Biden caused backlash while speaking in Denver on Monday when she suggested extending a White House invitation to both the NCAA women's champion LSU and runner-up Iowa.
The First Lady's press secretary Vanessa Valdivia walked back Biden's comments in a tweet on Tuesday.
"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," Valdivia tweeted.
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President Joe Biden seemed to further suggest that it will be a champions-only invitation with a series of tweets on Tuesday. He tweeted that LSU and NCAA men's champion UConn "showed us the best of what this country can be."
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"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," Biden said in a subsequent tweet.
The tweet thread made no mention of women's runner-up Iowa.
Iowa star Caitlin Clark, who was named the 2023 Wooden Award winner as the nation's most outstanding basketball player, said on Tuesday that LSU has earned an invitation to the White House.
"I don't think runner-ups usually go to the White House," Clark said on ESPN's Outside the Lines. "I think LSU should enjoy that moment for them. Congratulations, obviously they deserve to go there. Maybe I can go to the White House on different terms though."
Jill Biden was in attendance for LSU's 102-85 win over Iowa in the women's championship game at American Airlines Arena in Dallas on Sunday. The following day, while speaking at the Colorado state Capitol in Denver, she suggested inviting both teams to the White House.
“I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House, we always do," Biden said. "So, we hope LSU will come. But, you know, I’m going to tell Joe I think Iowa should come, too, because they played such a good game.”
Tigers star Angel Reese, the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player, tweeted "A JOKE" with a link to an ESPN story about Jill Biden's dual-invitation suggestion.
LSU's Alexis Morris tweeted at former First Lady Michelle Obama asking if the Tigers could celebrate their national championship victory at her house.
Television personalities from national media outlets also condemned the possibility of breaking a longstanding White House tradition.
It seems the tradition will stand, assuming LSU accepts the invitation.
