LSU Athletic Department Says Basketball Team Will Accept WH Invite After Angel Reese Suggested the Opposite
Tony Gutierrez/AP
LSU women’s basketball player Angel Reese might be going to the White House after all.
The status of the team’s visit has been uncertain since First Lady Jill Biden said she wanted Iowa to join the LSU Tigers. Traditionally, only the national champions get to go.
After Reese hinted at the team potentially declining the invitation in response to the first lady’s comments, LSU’s athletic department has now said the opposite. First reported by CNN, the athletic department stated it would “certainly accept an invitation” to the White House.
Reese has been opposed to the idea of Iowa joining them since it first came up. On April 3, she shared an ESPN article about Biden’s comments with the caption “A JOKE.”
🤣🤣🤣A JOKE. https://t.co/9SiOKQNqbj
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) April 3, 2023
Due to the backlash from Biden’s suggestion, her press secretary got on Twitter to clarify that the comments were made to celebrate the historic championship game.
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.
— Vanessa Valdivia (@vvaldivia46) April 4, 2023
That wasn’t enough for Reese. On an episode of the Paper Route podcast with hosts Brandon Marshall and Ashley Nicole Moss, Reese said she did not accept the apology and the team would instead “go to the Obamas.”
“You can’t go back on certain things that you say,” Reese said during the interview. “I mean, you felt like they should’ve come because of ‘sportsmanship,’ right? They can have that spotlight. We’ll go to the Obamas.”
Reese has yet to respond to LSU’s statement.
