Jill Biden Walks Back White House Invite for College Women Who Lost NCAA Basketball Championship

First Lady Jill Biden faced criticism for her decision to invite the University of Iowa women’s basketball team, which lost the NCAA championship game on Sunday, to visit the White House. Critics accused Biden of being racist and disrespecting the mostly black Louisiana State champions.

Biden’s spokesperson said her remarks were intended to praise women athletes and that she looked forward to honoring the LSU Tigers on their championship win in the White House. This statement seemed to rule out the possibility of inviting both the winning and losing teams.

Biden had originally said, “we’ll have the champions come to the White House,” but also noted that she wanted Iowa to come as well because they played a good game. Her comments drew vitriol on social media, with some accusing her of showing favoritism towards the mostly white Iowa team over LSU.

LSU player Angel Reese called Biden’s proposal “a joke,” and Democratic Louisiana congressman Troy Carter criticized the first lady, saying that inviting Iowa would diminish the LSU Tigers’ achievement.