Georgia Bulldogs championship football team declines White House invitation
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart kisses the championship trophy after the national championship NCAA College Football Playoff game against TCU
By Kevin Dotson and Jack Forrest, CNN
The Georgia Bulldogs football team declined an invitation to visit the White House next month to celebrate their second consecutive national championship, according to a statement from the University of Georgia Athletic Association.
“The University of Georgia first received on May 3 an invitation for the Bulldog football team to visit the White House on June 12,” the statement read. “Unfortunately, the date suggested is not feasible given the student-athlete calendar and time of year. However, we are appreciative of the invitation and look forward to other opportunities for Georgia teams moving forward.”
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.
The Bulldogs beat the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs 65-7 in January to take home the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy and end with a 15-0 perfect season.
The team did not visit the White House after its championship last year, nor did the Alabama Crimson Tide the year before, due to Covid-related reasons.
The Louisiana State University Tigers were the last championship football team to visit the White House in January 2020 — where former President Donald Trump joked about his first impeachment but did not provide the same viral buffet of fast food that awaited the 2018 champions, the Clemson Tigers.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden announced Monday the White House would be hosting the LSU Tigers women’s basketball team and the University of Connecticut Huskies men’s basketball team on May 26 for two ceremonies celebrating each team’s national championship title.
The invitation of the LSU women’s basketball team comes after high-profile criticism from team star Angel Reese after the first lady suggested that both LSU and second-place team University of Iowa should come to the celebratory ceremony. The first lady’s office later walked back her remarks.
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CNN’s Betsy Klein, Maegan Vazquez and Nikki Carvajal contributed to this report.
