Jill Biden stumbles by inviting NCAA winners (and losers) to the White House
WASHINGTON – It was, in sports terms, an unforced foul.
Jill Biden, the first lady, attended the NCAA Women’s Championship game last weekend, sat in the stands with college basketball players and told them how far female athletes had come. On Monday, she was still so excited that she said she hoped to invite Louisiana State, the team that swept Iowa’s title, 102-85, to the White House on Sunday.
“But you know,” she added, “I’m going to tell Joe I think Iowa should come too, because they played such a good game.”
And with that, Dr. Biden on the fraught tradition of White House sports invitations, which have become more politicized by the year as the forces of race, social justice, gender and politics continue to reshape the realms of athletics and fandom.
Sports fans, newscasters, and the athletes themselves were quick to point out to the first lady that invitations to the White House should only be issued to winners. But the game was about more than just who won and who lost.
The story centered on Angel Reese, the star forward for LSU, who led her team’s efforts to overthrow Iowa and their prime minister, Caitlin Clark. Mrs. Reese is black and Mrs. Clark is white. And Ms. Clark, the consensus national player of the year who used a disparaging remark hand gesture to antagonize her opponents, never received as much criticism for her behavior as Mrs. Reese waving her champion ring finger to Mrs. Clark during the title game, as the Tigers pulled away to win.
“If we lost, we wouldn’t be invited to the White House,” Ms. Reese said on a podcast. She indicated on Tuesday that she would not accept an apology anyway and left open the question of whether she would visit the White House. We’re going to the Obamas. We’ll see Michelle; we’ll see Barack,” she added.
Her comment dismissed the cleanup efforts being conducted on behalf of Dr. Biden, a first lady who makes few public mistakes but whose missteps have drawn rebukes from vocal groups who said she lacked cultural knowledge.
Last summer, she faced criticism from Latino groups when she compared the diversity of the Hispanic community to the breadth of breakfast taco options available in Texas. In 2021 she messed up the Spanish saying “sí se puede” during a visit to the first headquarters of the United Farm Workers of America.
Katherine Jellison, a historian who studies first ladies, said the current role, which has no formal expectations, has been surrounded by more cultural landmines than in years past, both because of the immediacy of social media responses and the range of platforms. available to critics.
“I would just say there is more awareness and also more ways to comment through social media and traditional media,” Ms Jellison said. “It’s definitely a new ball game in that way.”
Both Ms. Clark and Ms. Reese have given multiple interviews about the White House invitation Mrs. Clark says she did not believe that runners-up should be present. And Ms. Reese was particularly vocal on Twitter, calling the first lady’s invitation to both teams “a joke” and retweeting a message from sports reporter Chris Williamson: “Your apology should be as loud as your disrespect.”
On Tuesday, Vanessa Valdivia, the first lady’s press secretary, said Dr. Biden tried to shine a spotlight on all female athletes when she suggested inviting both teams.
“The first lady loved watching the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship alongside young student-athletes and admires how far women have progressed in the sport since passing Title IX,” Ms. Valdivia wrote on Twitter, referring to the groundbreaking 1972 law. which prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex. in sports. “Her comments in Colorado were meant to applaud the historic game and all female athletes. She looks forward to celebrating the LSU Tigers on their championship win at the White House.”
The first lady has previously invited female athletes to the White House and has used those invitations to highlight issues of fairness in sports. On Equal Pay Day in 2021, she delivered remarks along with Megan Rapinoe and Margaret Purce of the US women’s soccer team, both of whom have pushed for female athletes to be paid the same amount as male athletes.
“You know I’m old enough to remember when we got Title IX. And we fought so hard, right? We fought so hard,” said Dr. Biden in her remarks Monday. “And look where women’s sport is today. So we have to keep working. We have to keep working.”
Sports teams began visiting the White House in 1865, when President Andrew Johnson welcomed the Washington Nationals and Brooklyn Atlantics from baseball. And in recent years, some athletes have waived the ceremonial visit in exchange for the opportunity to voice their opinion on the invite — or the president.
Golfer Tom Lehman once turned down an invitation from President Bill Clinton, who called Mr. Lehman a “baby killer who evades the draft.” In 2012, Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas skipped a championship ceremony hosted by President Barack Obama because, he said“the federal government is out of control.”
No president has provoked more protests than Donald J. Trump, who was also known to withdraw invitations when told athletes were planning not to attend. In 2018, he withdrew an invitation to the Philadelphia Eagles over a debate over players kneeling during the national anthem at games.
On Tuesday, President Biden said that both the men’s and women’s basketball champions will be invited to the White House. (No word on Iowa, though.)
“We can all learn a lot from watching these champions,” Biden said on Twitter, adding, “I look forward to welcoming them to each of their visits to the White House.”