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Rep. Troy Carter: LSU national champions deserve to stand alone with White House invitation

Staff Report

LSU's Angel Reese gestures toward Iowa's Caitlin Clark after the Tigers won the women's national championship.

After First Lady Jill Biden stated she wanted to invite Iowa to the White House to join the LSU national champions, U.S. Congressman Troy Carter (D-LA) said the honor should go to just the Tigers.

Biden told reporters in Denver she thought President Joe Biden should invite Iowa to Washington, D.C. as well.

The Tigers beat the Hawkeyes in the national championship game Aug. 2 in Dallas, 102-85.

First Lady Jill Biden and others listen to the national anthem before the NCAA Women's Final Four championship basketball game between LSU and Iowa Sunday, April 2, 2023, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

“Louisiana State University’s Women’s Basketball team won the 2023 NCAA Basketball championship and should enjoy their historic victory singularly," Carter said in a statement.

“With no disrespect to the outstanding players from Iowa, they did not win. The exceptional Louisiana Tigers are the indisputable winners of the championship, and this win is theirs and theirs alone. An invitation to the Iowa team would be at the expense of our Louisiana athletes. I know the First Lady meant no harm by commenting that the University of Iowa should also be invited to the White House, but her remark was an unintentional slight to the ladies of LSU and the citizens of Louisiana. I am respectfully requesting that these Louisiana champions enjoy the winner’s circle alone.”

LSU star Angel Reese was not enthused about the First Lady's idea either.

"A JOKE," Reese wrote on Twitter.

Vanessa Valdivia, press secretary to the First Lady and Special Assistant to the President, tweeted: "Her comments in Colorado were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes. She looks forward to celebrating the LSU Tigers on their championship win at the White House."