LSU star Angel Reese will attend the team’s championship celebration at the White House with President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, days after Reese suggested the team should celebrate with the Obama family instead.
Reese was upset by the first lady’s suggestion that both Iowa and LSU should be invited to the White House. President Biden only ended up inviting LSU, as well as men’s champion, Connecticut.
“In the beginning we were hurt,” Reese told ESPN on Friday. “It was emotional because we know how hard we worked all year for everything. You don’t get that experience [to go to the White House] ever, and I know my team probably wants to go for sure and my coaches are supportive of that so I’m going to do what’s best for the team and we’ve decided we’re going to go. … I’m a team player. I’m going to do what’s best for the team. I’m the captain.”
LSU confirmed on Thursday their plans to accept the White House’s invitation to celebrate the school’s national championship.
White House spokesperson Vanessa Valdivia said that the first lady “meant no disrespect” as she was just trying to applaud women’s athletes and the historic game between the two teams.
Reese called it “a joke.”
Despite this, all appears to be well as Reese and her teammates will be visiting Washington D.C. to meet with the president and first lady after all.