Bidens to host UConn, LSU at White House

Associated PressMay 8, 2023, 12:14 PM EDT

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, plan to welcome the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball champions to the White House later this month.

The University of Connecticut Huskies men’s team beat San Diego State 76-59 in April to secure its fifth national title. The Louisiana State University Tigers women’s team won its first championship by beating the University of Iowa 102-85.

The invite to LSU became a source of controversy this year after the first lady said in a speech that the defeated Iowa women’s team should also come to the White House “because they played such a good game.” In recent decades, the White House has usually hosted only champions.

LSU star Angel Reese tweeted a link to a story about Jill Biden’s remarks. “ A JOKE,” she wrote, along with three rolling-on-floor-laughing emojis. On a podcast shortly after, Reese said her team should instead celebrate their title with former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama.

Reese later said during an interview that she would go to the White House because she wants to do “what’s best for the team.”

The team visits are scheduled for May 26.

Aneesah Morrow moving from DePaul to national champ LSU

Associated PressMay 5, 2023, 10:48 PM EDT

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

BATON ROUGE, La. – Second-team All-America forward Aneesah Morrow is joining national champion LSU, the school announced Friday.

Morrow averaged 25.7 points and 12.2 rebounds for DePaul last season. She has had double-doubles in 53 of her 66 career games.

“Aneesah is coming to LSU as one of the premier scorers and rebounders in the country over the past two seasons,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said. “She has the ability to stretch the floor offensively with her range and brings an aggressive style of play that Tiger fans are going to love. We are excited to welcome Aneesah to Baton Rouge!”

The Tigers have now added two of the top players in the transfer portal with former Louisville star Hailey Van Lith announcing her decision to join LSU last week.

“As a true competitor, I always dreamed of playing for a top-tier program,” Morrow said. “LSU’s rich history, support and passion for all sports teams caught my attention. The atmosphere on my official visit was electric, and the fan base is incredibly passionate about their team. I was drawn to this kind of environment because I’ve always dreamed about playing for a university that had that. Furthermore, the opportunity to play in the SEC against some of the nation’s best teams.”

The Tigers are bringing back numerous players from their championship team, including Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson.

“Signing with LSU was a tough decision considering my top three choices. However, the university has a great basketball program with an enthusiastic fan base and provides ample opportunities for personal growth both on and off the court,” Morrow said.

Champion LSU women accepting Biden invitation to White House

Associated PressApr 6, 2023, 10:33 PM EDT

BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU’s national champion women’s basketball team will accept an invitation from President Joe Biden to visit the White House.

University spokesman Michael Bonnette confirmed LSU’s intentions on the matter on Thursday, a day after Tigers star forward Angel Reese suggested during a podcast interview that her team should celebrate their title with former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama rather than President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden.

Reese made the suggestion after saying she was not inclined to accept an apology from Jill Biden for suggesting that both LSU and runner-up Iowa be invited to the White House. President Biden did not follow through on that idea, inviting only LSU and men’s national champion Connecticut.

Vanessa Valdivia, a spokesperson for Jill Biden, has said the first lady had meant no disrespect to LSU and that her comments were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes. With its 102-85 triumph over the Hawkeyes, LSU’s point total was the most ever scored in a championship game by a single team. The 187 combined total also shattered the previous mark. The game also drew a television audience of 9.9 million, a record for an NCAA women’s title game.

There is currently no set date for a White House visit, Bonnette said. He could not confirm whether all players and coaches would be able to attend.

At an appearance in Denver on Monday, Jill Biden had praised Iowa’s sportsmanship and congratulated both teams. She also said that as part of the longstanding tradition of having champions visit the White House, Iowa should come as well “because they played such a good game.”

Reese on Monday called Jill Biden’s suggestion “a joke.”

Some social media commenters noted the racial dynamics involved, saying that only winners should be rewarded with a White House visit and that hosting both teams would detract from the achievement by LSU’s team, which is predominantly Black. The Iowa team is largely white. Others noted the important role of Black women in Democratic Party politics.

President Biden was Obama’s running mate and vice president for eight years. Obama, meanwhile, actively campaigned for Biden in the 2020 election.

Following LSU’s victory, coach Kim Mulkey said she would go to the White House if invited. Reese said Wednesday she was uncertain if she would go.

Reese faced criticism on social media for mockingly waving her hand in front of her face while staring down Iowa star Caitlin Clark near the end of the game. Clark, The Associated Press Player of the Year, made a similar gesture to no one in particular during Iowa’s victory over Louisville in the Elite Eight.

Reese said she didn’t think LSU, had it lost to Iowa, would have gotten the same praise from Jill Biden as the Hawkeyes did.

“If we were to lose, we would not be getting invited to the White House,” she added. “I remember she made a comment about both teams should be invited because of sportsmanship. And I’m like, ‘Are you saying that because of what I did?’ Stuff like that, it bothers me because you are a woman at the end of the day. White, Black, it doesn’t matter, you’re a woman, you’re supposed to be standing behind us before anything.”

During LSU’s championship parade through campus on Wednesday night, a smiling Reese continued to wave her hand in front of her face, in between waves to cheering fans, as she sat in the back of an orange convertible Corvette.

Reese’s expressiveness on and off the court has sparked increasing interest in her. According to Canada Sports Betting, Reese gained 500,000 Instagram followers in the two days after LSU’s national title triumph, pushing her total of followers above 1 million.

Reese also has been touted by high-profile athletes with global followings. Seven-time Formula 1 champion driver Lewis Hamilton posted a photo of Reese on his Instagram page. And when the Memphis Grizzlies visited New Orleans this week, star guard Ja Morant made the short trip to LSU’s Baton Rouge campus for a meeting with Reese that was posted on social media.

LSU’s Angel Reese on White House flap: ‘We’ll go to the Obamas’

Associated PressApr 5, 2023, 10:17 PM EDT

First lady Jill Biden’s walk-back of her suggestion that runner-up Iowa should join NCAA women’s basketball champion LSU for a visit to the White House didn’t sit well with Tigers star Angel Reese.

Prompted by a discussion of Biden’s comments during her Wednesday appearance on “The Paper Route Podcast,” Reese said the Tigers should celebrate their title with former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama rather than President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden.

Jill Biden, at an appearance in Denver on Monday, had praised Iowa’s sportsmanship and congratulated both teams. She also said that as part of the longstanding tradition of having champions visit the White House, Iowa should come as well “because they played such a good game.”

The Tigers defeated Iowa 102-85 for the title in Dallas on Sunday.

Reese on Monday called Jill Biden’s suggestion “a joke.”

Joe Biden invited LSU and men’s champion Connecticut to the White House on Tuesday with no mention of Iowa. Vanessa Valdivia, a spokesperson for Jill Biden, said the first lady had meant no disrespect to LSU and that her comments were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes.

“I’m not gonna lie to you, I don’t accept the apology because of, you said what you said. I said what I said. And like, you can’t go back on certain things that you say,” Reese told podcast hosts Brandon Marshall and Ashley Nicole Moss.

“I mean, you felt like they should’ve came because of sportsmanship, right?” Reese added. “They can have that spotlight. We’ll go to the Obamas. We’ll see Michelle. We’ll see Barack.”

Following LSU’s victory, coach Kim Mulkey said she would go to the White House if invited. Reese said Wednesday she was uncertain if she would go.

Reese faced criticism on social media for waving her hand in front of Iowa star Caitlin Clark’s face while staring down Clark during the game. Clark, The Associated Press Player of the Year, made a similar gesture to no one in particular during Iowa’s victory over Louisville in the Elite Eight.

Reese said she didn’t think LSU, had it lost to Iowa, would have gotten the same praise from Jill Biden as the Hawkeyes did.

President Joe Biden to host UConn, LSU; doesn’t mention Iowa

Associated PressApr 4, 2023, 1:01 PM EDT

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said that he looks forward to hosting the NCAA men’s and women’s championship basketball teams, the University of Connecticut and Louisiana State University, at the White House, appearing to shut the door on a suggestion a day earlier by his wife, Jill, that the defeated Iowa women’s team be invited, too.

President Biden tweeted that LSU and Connecticut “showed us the best of what this country can be.”

“We can all learn a lot from watching these champions compete,” the president said, “and I look forward to welcoming them at each of their White House visits.” He did not announce dates, and the comment suggests that Iowa will not be invited.

Following LSU’s victory, coach Kim Mulkey said she would go to the White House if the team, the Tigers, was invited. There was no immediate comment from Connecticut, but the team has made the trip to the White House after winning the NCAA title game in prior years.

The first lady, who is a big sports fan, had watched LSU’s 102-85 victory over Iowa from the stands in the Dallas arena alongside tennis great Billie Jean King and several college athletes.

During an appearance in Denver with Colorado lawmakers, Jill Biden followed up by praising Iowa’s sportsmanship and congratulated both teams on their performance. She noted the long-standing White House tradition of celebrating championship sports teams – and added a twist.

“I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House, we always do. So, we hope LSU will come,” she said. “But, you know, I’m going to tell Joe I think Iowa should come, too, because they played such a good game.”

The suggestion didn’t go over well. LSU star Angel Reese, who was honored as Most Outstanding Player, tweeted a link to a story on Jill Biden’s remarks. “A JOKE,” Reese wrote, along with three rolling-on-floor-laughing emojis.

Others commenting on social media said only winners should be rewarded with a White House visit and that also inviting Iowa would detract from LSU’s achievement. The LSU team is predominantly Black and Iowa is largely white.

Vanessa Valdivia, a spokesperson for Jill Biden, said the first lady was excited by watching the women’s game and meant no disrespect to LSU by suggesting a White House invite for Iowa.

“Her comments in Colorado were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes,” Valdivia tweeted. “She looks forward to celebrating the LSU Tigers on their championship win at the White House.”

During her remarks in Colorado, the first lady also talked about how U.S. women have excelled in athletics since Title IX in 1972 gave women equal rights in sports at schools that receive federal funding.

“It was so exciting, wasn’t it?” she asked. “It was such a great game. I’m old enough that I remember when we got Title IX. We fought so hard, right? We fought so hard. And look at where women’s sports have come today.”

The pushback over the first lady’s NCAA comments recalled an episode last year when she apologized for saying Latinos are “as unique” as the breakfast tacos served in San Antonio. She had made the comment during a speech to nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization.

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists and others registered their offense on social media, with the journalists’ organization tweeting that, “We are not tacos.”

LSU’s Reese unapologetic over gestures to Iowa star Clark

Associated PressApr 3, 2023, 12:58 PM EDT

DALLAS – LSU’s Angel Reese waved her hand in front of her face while staring down Caitlin Clark, then pointed toward her finger as if to say a ring was coming while walking toward the Iowa star.

The gestures late in the Tigers’ 102-85 victory in the NCAA championship game Sunday lit up social media, with comments supporting the “Bayou Barbie” for trash talk that’s just part of the game and condemning her for lacking grace in victory.

The bubbly junior from Baltimore, who transferred from Maryland to join flamboyant LSU coach Kim Mulkey, was unapologetic in the postgame news conference.

“All year, I was critiqued about who I was,” Reese said. “I don’t fit in a box that y’all want me to be in. I’m too hood. I’m too ghetto. But when other people do it, y’all say nothing. So this was for the girls that look like me, that’s going to speak up on what they believe in. It’s unapologetically you.”

Clark, the scoring sensation who was the first with consecutive 40-point games in an NCAA Tournament, made the face-waving gesture to no one in particular during an Elite Eight victory over Louisville.

The Associated Press Player of the Year wasn’t shy about showing her emotions when the Hawkeyes knocked off undefeated defending national champion South Carolina in the semifinals.

If she saw Reese’s gestures, Clark didn’t seem concerned about them.

“I was just trying to get to the handshake line and shake hands and be grateful that my team was in that position,” said Clark, who scored 30 points. “That’s all you can do is hold your head high, be proud of what you did. All the credit in the world to LSU. They were tremendous.”

In a 79-72 semifinal victory over Virginia Tech, Reese made what appeared to be a “you’re too small” gesture several times after scoring around the basket.

The fashionable 6-foot-3 post with modeling aspirations is becoming a social media magnet. Reese wooed Lil Wayne after chastising the rapper from New Orleans for reaching out to Elite Eight opponent Miami before doing the same with the Tigers.

“I’m going to be me, but I can’t do it without the girls here, and I can’t do it without the rest of my teammates and coaches,” said Reese, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds while three teammates scored at least 20 points.

She was named the Most Outstanding Player at the Final Four after setting an NCAA single-season record with her 34th double-double against the Hawkeyes.

“Twitter can say what Twitter can say,” Reese said. “I love reading those comments. I have all the screenshots of what everybody has said about me all season. What are you going to say now?”