South Carolina’s women’s basketball team, which captured their first national championship at the Women’s Final Four in April, have declined an invitation to visit the White House.
President Donald Trump hosted the college sports championship teams in a reception at the White House on Friday, but the Gamecocks were not among them.
“We did hear from the White House about attending (Friday’s) event, but we will not be able to attend,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said in a statement Thursday night. “As I’ve been saying since our practices for this season started, all of our focus is on the season ahead. The only invitation we are thinking about is to the 2018 NCAA tournament.”
The fourth-ranked Gamecocks opened their championship defense last week and have won their first three games, including a 66-36 win over Clemson on Thursday ahead of Sunday’s home game against Wofford.
Trump sparred with professional athletes earlier this year when NBA star Stephen Curry said his championship-winning Golden State Warriors didn’t wish to meet with Trump. The feud erupted as Trump was lambasting NFL athletes for kneeling in protest during the national anthem.
North Carolina’s men’s basketball team said earlier this year it could not agree on a date for a visit. Trump hosted the Clemson Tigers football team at the White House in June.
The Super Bowl champion New England Patriots and Stanley Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins both accepted invitations to the executive mansion earlier this year.
During an exchange of pleasantries with the Maryland men’s and women’s lacrosse teams, who each captured national titles, Trump joked they should perhaps both play each other. When he spotted senior attacker Dylan Maltz wearing a necktie with the name Trump inscribed in the pattern, the president grabbed the accessory for a photo with the student-athlete.
When he met in the Red Room with West Virginia University’s co-ed rifle team, who brought home the school’s fifth consecutive NCAA title in March, the president quipped, “Second Amendment, right? Save the Second Amendment!” before telling the group their state had a “great governor” and was experiencing economic growth.
Other champions to meet with Trump on Friday included Arizona State women’s triathlon, Florida baseball, McKendree’s women’s bowling, Penn State women’s rugby, Texas A&M women’s equestrian and men’s indoor track, Utah skiing, Virginia men’s tennis, Washington women’s rowing and the men’s golf, softball and men and women’s gymnastics teams from the University of Oklahoma.
John F Kennedy was the first president to host the NBA champions, when the Boston Celtics visited in January 1963. The visit became an annual occurrence under Ronald Reagan.
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