While the weekend’s controversy including Iowa Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark and LSU Tigers guard Angel Reese didn’t need any help in order to gain national attention, the first lady of the United States, Jill Biden, unintentionally provided just that.
“I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House; we always do,” Biden told an audience in Denver on Monday, one day after LSU defeated Iowa in the NCAA Women’s National Championship, per the New York Post. “So, we hope LSU will come, but, you know, I’m going to tell Joe (Biden) I think Iowa should come too, because they played such a good game.”
In a welcomed display of anti-participation trophy, though, Clark declined the invite. She doesn’t believe runner-up Iowa should join the national champions in Washington, D.C.
“I don’t think runner-ups usually go to the White House,” Clark said on ESPN’s Outside The Lines. “I think LSU should enjoy that moment for them and congratulations, obviously. They deserve to go there.
“Maybe I can go to the White House on different terms, though,” Clark joked. “But that’s for LSU. So that’s a pretty cool moment and they should enjoy every single second of being a champion so I think that’s theirs.”
A spokeswoman for Jill Biden walked back her public invitation to Iowa on Tuesday, probably to the delight of Reese and countless others. Reese, who got caught up in some drama with her in-game antics aimed at Clark, laughed at Biden’s initial invite.
Clark also shared on ESPN how she had no problem with Reese’s trash talk during Sunday’s title game.
