Stephen A. Smith denounces Biden First Lady Jill Biden’s idea of inviting Iowa along with LSU
‘Runner-ups aren’t invited to the White House’: Stephen A. Smith slams First Lady Jill Biden’s idea of inviting Iowa alongside LSU as Lady Tigers’ Angel Reese calls it a ‘JOKE’
Stephen A. Smith — and LSU’s Angel Reese — have criticized the White House’s decision to invite the Iowa women’s basketball team to visit after falling to the Lady Tigers on Sunday.
Iowa fell 102-85 in the national championship to LSU, but Caitlin Clark continued her stellar play with 30 points and the game shattered the previous women’s basketball viewership record.
First lady Jill Biden said Monday she wanted both teams invited to the White House after sparking national interest in the final.
But Smith disagrees to include the second team.
“I mean absolutely no disrespect to the First Lady, but you are 1000% right,” he tweeted in response to a tweet in which Reese called the news “a joke.”
Angel Reese caused controversy with her taunting of Iowa as the game progressed
Caitlin Clark failed to propel Iowa to a title despite scoring 30 points in Sunday’s game
That’s a bad proposition. Runner-ups are not invited to the White House. Why are we trying to change it now? I totally agree with you, Angel.’
Biden, watching the game from the stands on Sunday night, praised Iowa’s sportsmanship and congratulated both teams on their performance.
“I know we will bring the champions to the White House, we always do. So we hope that LSU will come,” she said. “But you know, I’m going to tell Joe I think Iowa should come too, because they played such a good game.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether President Joe Biden would also send a White House invitation to Iowa — and whether it would be a joint visit with LSU or a separate engagement.
After LSU’s victory, Tigers coach Kim Mulkey said she would go to the White House if the team was invited.
LSU star Angel Reese tweeted Monday a link to a story about Jill Biden’s comments. “A JOKE,” she wrote, along with three crying and laughing emojis.
Reese – the Final Four’s most notable player – has received a lot of attention on social media over the past 24 hours, since she waved her hand in front of her face as she stared down Iowa star Caitlin Clark in the final moments of LSU’s victory, then pointed to her finger as if to say a ring was coming.
Clark set the record for points scored in an NCAA tournament with 191 in six games. When she saw Reese’s gestures, Clark seemed unconcerned.
Social media lit up in the aftermath, with some believing it was nonsense that was just part of the game, while others condemned her for having no pardon in the win. Reese was not apologetic.
“All year I was criticized for who I was,” Reese said. “I don’t fit into a box you want me to be in. I’m too capricious. I’m too ghetto. But when other people do it, you say nothing. So this was for the girls who look like me who will say what they believe in. It’s you, unashamedly.’
Reese is black while Clark is white.
First Lady Jill Biden expressed her belief that both teams should be invited to the White House
The LSU Lady Tigers finished with a comfortable 102-85 victory against Iowa in Dallas, Texas
Clark, the scoring sensation who was the first with consecutive 40-point games in an NCAA tournament, made a similar waving gesture to no one in particular during Iowa’s Elite Eight victory over Louisville.
Iowa did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the invitation.
In her remarks, Biden also marveled at how far women’s sports have come in the US since Title IX in 1972 gave women equal rights in sports in schools that receive federal funding.
“It was so exciting, wasn’t it,” the first lady said. “It was such a great match. I’m old enough to remember when we got Title IX. We fought so hard, right? We fought so hard. And look where women’s sport is today.’