Virginia Men’s Basketball Team Declines White House Visit
Written by SOURCE on April 27, 2019
It’s confirmed. The University of Virginia men’s basketball team will not celebrate at the White House.
Weeks after the Cavaliers clinched the 2019 NCAA championship title, head coach Tony Bennett announced the team would not celebrate the win over Texas Tech at the White House. Bennett shared the news in a statement Friday night, citing scheduling conflicts among athletes.
The long tradition of championship teams visiting the White House has been broken multiple times under the Trump presidency. The Philadelphia Eagles, Golden State Warriors, and the 2018 NCAA champion Villanova are among the teams that did not celebrate their victories at the White House; however, the New England Patriots, the Washington Capitals, and Clemson University’s football team were among the champs POTUS has hosted.
Earlier this week, the Baylor women’s basketball team announced they will visit White House to celebrate their third NCAA title.
“I’ve been every time for every president. It’s not a political issue for me,” Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey told the Associated Press shortly after the team’s win. “It’s an honor to go to the White House. I want everyone to say they went to the White House. Not many people can say that. I hope Virginia men go and I can meet Tony Bennett. We were honored when President Bush was in the office. We were honored when Barack Obama was in the office. We’d be honored if Donald Trump invited us. With politics aside, We should go to say we went to the White House.”
According to the team’s website, the Baylor Lady Bears will visit the White House on Monday afternoon.
