The following is an unreleased story by the late Jahari George - Chloe-Ryan Woolfolk editor-in-chief.
After the Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers win over the Iowa Hawkeyes on April 2, First Lady Jill Biden took to social media to congratulate the Tigers on their win, however, her invitation that followed her praise of the Tigers left fans across the country in an outrage.
Biden took to social media stating, “Last Night, I attended the NCAA women’s basketball championship. So I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House, we always do. So, we hope LSU will come but, I’m going to tell Joe I think Iowa should come, too, because they played
such a good game,” Biden said.
Traditionally, the national champions are invited to the White House, not the runner-up, which
resulted in recently crowned NCAA Champion Angel Reese and fans across the nation to voice
their displeasure about Bidens comment.
In a comment under an Instagram post from ‘The Shade Room’, which includes Reese’s original
tweet calling Bidens invitation “A JOKE” , Reese comments, “WE NOT COMING. Period.”
Many fans have sided with Reese’s comment stating that Biden’s comment undermines the achievement for women of color.
In a follow up interview on the ‘Paper Route Show’, Reese further explains her previous comments towards Jill Biden and how she does not accept her apology expressing that she would rather “go to the Obamas.”
Since then, Jill Biden’s press secretary Vanessa Valdivia took to social media to explain Bidens
reasoning behind her original statement.
“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,” said Valdivia.
Although Valdivia’s statements were aimed in explaining the reasoning behind Bidens original
statement, Valdivia’s statement caused even more of an uproar and caused fans wonder why Jill Biden couldn’t make the same statement herself.
In more recent news, the Athletics Department from LSU states they will “Certainly accept
an invitation” despite Reese’s previous statements from earlier in the week.
LSU Rejects White House Invitation from First Lady Jill Biden
Spartan News
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