Louisiana State University’s Angel Reese had two words for Jill Biden after the first lady suggested both the winners and the runners-up of the NCAA women’s basketball championship visit the White House.
“A JOKE,” Reese tweeted.
Biden attended the game Sunday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, where Reese and her team defeated the Hawkeyes 102-85.
Biden congratulated both teams Monday during remarks to Colorado state lawmakers in Denver. Biden said the matchup was a “great game” and a product of the fight for Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex at colleges, ushering generations of female athletes since 1972.
She then spoke of inviting the two teams to the White House.
“I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House; we always do. So, we hope LSU will come — but, you know, I’m going to tell Joe I think Iowa should come too, because they played such a good game,” she said.
Although Iowa lost by 17 points, Biden may have been referencing Hawkeye Caitlin Clark’s record-breaking scoring. Clark, 21, scored the most points in a single NCAA basketball tournament — men’s or women’s — with 191 points. She was also the first player to have back-to-back 40-point games in NCAA tournament history.
LSU did not immediately return a request for comment.
The Office of the First Lady of the United States did not immediately respond to a request for comment about her remarks, but Vanessa Valdivia, the first lady’s press secretary, tweeted early Tuesday that Biden enjoyed the tournament and seeing the progress of women athletes. It was not immediately clear which teams would be invited to the White House.
After Biden’s remarks on Monday, others tweeted sharing Reese’s annoyance.
“Hey @Reese10Angel, I mean absolutely zero disrespect to the First Lady, but you are 1000% correct,” sports commentator Stephen A. Smith tweeted. “That is a bad suggestion. Runner-ups don’t get invited to the White House. Why are we trying to change it now? I…
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