The champion LSU women’s basketball team has accepted an invitation to visit the White House later this month. The University of Georgia Bulldogs football team politely declined its invitation.

Angel Reese, a star player on the LSA team, is going with her team, even though she publicly criticized the first lady over her suggestion that Joe Biden issue a similar invitation to the Iowa team that LSU beat for the national championship. After a little righteous indignation and support from a star Iowa player, Angel now says she will go because it is good for the team. So much for the idea that the team should go to Barack and Michelle Obama’s house to celebrate. She didn’t specify which Obama house.

The invite to LSU became a source of controversy this year after the first lady said in a speech that the defeated Iowa women’s team should also come to the White House “because they played such a good game.” In recent decades, the White House has usually hosted only champions.

LSU star Angel Reese tweeted a link to a story about Jill Biden’s remarks. “ A JOKE,” she wrote, along with three rolling-on-floor-laughing emojis. On a podcast shortly after, Reese said her team should instead celebrate their title with former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama.

Reese later told ESPN during an interview that she would go to the White House because she wants to do “what’s best for the team.”

Jill Biden is not the sharpest tool in the shed, as she proved after the LSU-Iowa game. Also on the invitation list on May 26 at the White House is the University of Connecticut Huskies men’s team that beat San Diego State in April, the school’s fifth national championship. That’s right, instead of each team getting their own day, these two schools are sharing a day. That’s pretty lame because there aren’t that many championship teams for the president to congratulate. He’s got the time. How many days do we read that no public events are on his calendar? A lot.

An invitation to visit the White House was declined by the University of Georgia Bulldogs. Despite their back-to-back national championships, the team once again finds itself unable to go to the White House to accept its congratulations from the president and first lady. The team cites a scheduling conflict.

The school did not attend last year after winning its first of back-to-back titles. The team defeated TCU, 65-7, this past January to win its second straight.

“Unfortunately, the date suggested is not feasible given the student-athlete calendar and time of year,” an athletic department spokesperson told Dawg Nation. “However, we are appreciative of the invitation and look forward to other opportunities for Georgia teams moving forward.”

The White House took too long to invite the team, everyone noticed that. They won back in January. Now that it is the end of the school year, of course, they are busy. U.S. Rep. Earl LeRoy “Buddy” Carter as well as Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock applied pressure on Biden after a tweet posted by defensive lineman Warren Brinson was published. He voiced his criticism that the invitation was so slow in coming in February. Naturally, politicians got involved, especially since Georgia is a newly purplish state. From a purely political point of view, the White House botched this one.

Conservatives criticized. White House visits were politicized some time ago.

“I don’t blame them. Go Dawgs,” tweeted U.S. Rep. Mike Collins who represents Athens.

I don't blame them. Go Dawgs! https://t.co/IagwwpqbSh

— Rep. Mike Collins (@RepMikeCollins) May 9, 2023

“Go Dawgs!” was the response from former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler.

Go Dawgs! https://t.co/nav6lw9Iir

— Kelly Loeffler (@KLoeffler) May 9, 2023

“Dragging their feet on inviting to the White House the champions in the state Biden only won by 11,000 votes is another dumb move,” wrote conservative commentator Erick Erickson.

Dragging their feet on inviting to the White House the champions in the state Biden only won by 11,000 votes is another dumb move. https://t.co/EC74p2py7B

— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) May 9, 2023

The White House is planning a “College Athlete Day” for NCAA Athletes when the president and first lady host champions from many collegiate sports.

On College Athlete Day, dozens of championship teams across different sports and different NCAA divisions are expected to visit. The NCAA holds 90 championships in 24 sports across its three divisions.

The news comes a day after the Bidens extended White House invitations to the men’s basketball champions, UConn, and the women’s basketball champions, LSU. They will each visit Washington, D.C., on May 26.

If Team Biden tries to convince you that College Athlete Day is something new, something to add to their list of “historic” firsts, call malarkey. George W. Bush began a tradition of inviting nonbasketball and nonfootball DI champions to an event he hosted each year. It’s nice for other sports to get recognition.