Angel Reese says her LSU team will not be going to the White House but the school says it will

(CNN) Louisiana State University star Angel Reese said that neither she nor her team will be visiting the White House yet The Tigers defeated the University of Iowa Hawkeyes 102-85 to win their first NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship.

Traditionally, national heroes will be invited to the White House. But after comments from First Lady Jill Biden, she suggests calling Iowa well before then He appears to be walking backwardsReese said Podcast “I am an athlete” Hosts Brandon Marshall and Ashley Nicole Moss: “I don’t accept apologies because you said what you said… You can’t undo some of the things you said… They can take the spotlight. We’ll go for Obama. We’ll go see Michelle and we’ll see Barack.”

Reese, who was named the women’s tournament MVP as a result of her outstanding performance, also said separately: “I just know if the roles were reversed, it wouldn’t be the same. If we were going to lose, we wouldn’t be invited to the White House.” .

But the school’s athletics department said Wednesday that they would “definitely accept an invitation.”

Speaking Monday, Biden congratulated both teams on their performance in Sunday’s national championship game, as well as specifically highlighting Iowa’s sportsmanship.

“Last night, I attended the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament,” Biden said while speaking at an event at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver.

So I know we’ll have the champs come to the White House, we always do. So, hopefully LSU will come but, you know, I’ll tell Joe [Biden] I think Iowa should come in too, because they had a good game.”

Reese, the 20-year-old forward, responded to Biden’s comments, calling them “A JOKE” on Monday, and on Instagram. mail Of “The Shade Room,” the newly crowned NCAA champion commented: “We’re not coming. Period.”

By Tuesday, Biden appeared to walk back the comments, with first lady press secretary Vanessa Valdivia say In a tweet, she said they “meant to pay tribute to the historic game and all sports. She looks forward to celebrating the LSU Tigers in winning the championship at the White House.”

President Biden had previously said that LSU would be invited to the White House, along with the NCAA Men’s Champions, University of Connecticut.

Reese’s teammate Alex Morris Twitter took to asking Michelle Obama if her team could celebrate their victory at their home, after Barack tweeted his congratulations to the team.
After LSU’s win Sunday, coach Kim Mulkey said she would go to the White House if the team was invited.

A spokesman for the Obama family declined to comment.

Meanwhile, Caitlin Clark is from Ewa He said Tuesday That Iowa should not be invited to the White House.

“I don’t think runners-up usually go to the White House. I think LSU should enjoy this moment for them, and I congratulate them, they obviously deserve to go there. I could probably go to the White House on different terms though,” Clark said. “This is for LSU. It’s a pretty cool moment and they should be enjoying every second of being a champion.”

CNN’s Jacob Lev, David Lauterbach, Ben Morse, and Wayne Sterling contributed to this report.