1000+NCAA champion athletes visits White House, where Vice President Kamala Harris celebrates them, Photos.
More than a thousand collegiate athletes from winning teams in the United States gathered on the South Lawn of the White House on Monday. Vice President Kamala Harris praised them and noted that athletics had a "very special way of bringing people together."
The president was supposed to welcome the athletes, but due to a root canal, he was unable to make it to the outdoor ceremony on a cloudy morning. The first-ever assembly takes place as college sports have increasingly influenced politics.
There was recent controversy around Louisiana State University's champion women's basketball team visiting the White House after first lady Jill Biden recommended that the University of Iowa's runner-up team should also attend.
The LSU team ultimately went to the White House despite initial resistance from star Angel Reese who said the team should visit former president Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, instead. Collegiate sports have also faced questions about the participation of transgender athletes.
The focus on Monday was on the role that athletes play in U.S. society as role models.
“You inspire so many across our country, people you may never meet,” Harris said. “You remind all of us of what we can achieve.”
The event included 47 teams from 19 different sports, though there was one notable exception. The University of Georgia Bulldogs football team declined to attend the event due to not feasible date & time given.
There was the women’s bowling team from Vanderbilt University, the men’s ice hockey team from Hobart College, the Wellesley College rowing team, the men’s gymnastics and women’s water polo teams from Stanford University, among others.
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