It’s not just Angel Reese and the LSU Lady Tigers who are opposed to the idea of the second-place team getting to visit the White House. It turns out the second-place team doesn’t care for it, either.
Iowa women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder took to Twitter on Tuesday to let the First Lady know that a White House visit is for the “champion” and the champion alone.
“I gratefully acknowledge the First Lady’s sentiments, but a day at the White House should belong solely to the champion, LSU and Coach Mulkey. We would welcome the First Lady and President to come to Iowa’s “House” – Carver Hawkeye Arena — any time!”
First Lady Jill Biden watched the game while seated alongside tennis legend Billie Jean King. After the game, she said she would like to extend a White House invite to champion LSU and the team that lost, Iowa.
“I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House, we always do,” Biden said in Denver on Monday, the day after the game.
“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.”
Biden inviting the second-place team was bizarre for a couple of reasons. First, no one invites the loser to the White House. Second, Iowa didn’t play that good of a game. They lost by 17 points. So it’s not like they lost in the final minute or something.
This idea did not sit well with LSU star Angel Reese, who called it “A JOKE” on Twitter.
On Tuesday, FLOTUS’ spokesperson Vanessa Valdivia took to Twitter to attempt damage control by casting Biden’s invite to both teams as a gesture of praise for 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.