Lisa Bluder rejects Jill Biden's White House proposal, makes counter offer
Iowa women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder has politely declined the invitation from First Lady Jill Biden for the Hawkeyes to join LSU on a White House visit following the national championship. Biden extended the offer to both teams on Monday despite the fact that the honor is typically reserved for the winner only.
The Tigers defeated Iowa 102-85 on Sunday afternoon, and Bluder doesn’t want to take away from their celebration. However, she added that the Hawkeyes would be happy to host the First Lady in Iowa City at a later date.
“I gratefully acknowledge the First Lady’s sentiments, but a day at the White House should belong solely to the champion, LSU and Coach (Kim) Mulkey,” Bluder tweeted. “We would welcome the First Lady and President to come to Iowa’s “House” – Carver Hawkeye Arena — any time!”
Biden made her invitation while speaking at the Colorado state Capitol on Monday, congratulating both teams on their performances.
“I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House; we always do. So, we hope LSU will come,” she said according to ESPN. “But, you know, I’m going to tell Joe I think Iowa should come too, because they played such a good game.”
LSU forward Angel Reese, who won the Most Outstanding Player award in the NCAA Tournament, quickly caught wind of the First Lady’s comments. She made her opinion on the matter clear in a Twitter post.
“A JOKE,” Reese wrote.
With Lisa Bluder rejecting the White House invite, it seems the matter can finally be put to bed for good.
Regardless of all the ensuing controversy following the national championship, it represented a huge moment in women’s sports. The game set a record for the most-watch women’s basketball national title with an estimated 9.9 million viewers. As Biden added in her comments from Monday, it’s great to see how far things have come.
“It was so exciting, wasn’t it?” she said. “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.”
Caitlin Clark rejects First Lady Jill Biden’s suggestion runner-up Iowa attend White House
Iowa junior guard Caitlin Clark, who broke multiple records throughout the tournament, joined her head coach in declining Biden’s invitation.
“I don’t think runner-ups usually go to the White House,” Clark said. “I think LSU should enjoy that moment for them. Congratulations, obviously, they deserve to go there. Maybe I can go to the White House on different terms, though. But I think that’s for LSU. That’s a pretty cool moment and they should enjoy every single second of being a champion. So I think that’s theirs to do.
“But more than anything, I’m just lucky enough that there were some really cool people in that arena at that championship game Sunday night. There were some really highly sought-after people watching and supporting women’s basketball, and that’s exactly what this game needs. So I appreciate the First Lady being in the house and watching both teams and supporting the greatness of women’s basketball.”