The Georgia Bulldogs won the NCAA Football National Championship and, as is customary, have been invited to the White House to celebrate. However, the Bulldogs staff and players have decided not to accept the invitation, which has shocked many in the sports world.
According to a spokesperson for the UGA program, the date offered by White House coordinators would not work and be “not feasible” for the members of the championship team. In a message shared by Breitbart, the spokesperson said:
“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.”
Georgia also did not attend the White House after their National Championship victory last season. Initially, the Bulldogs did not receive an invite this year to visit the White House due to concerns over the safety of both players and White House staff and residents. The team was later invited after US Rep Buddy Carter, Sen. Jon Ossoff and Sen. Raphael Warnock came together to petition for the team. According to Fox News, they wrote:
“The Georgia Bulldogs, led by Head Coach Kirby Smart, completed a historic season in which they accomplished a 15-0 record and won their second National Championship in the same number of years,” the political leaders wrote in their request. “The 2022-2023 team allowed an average of 14.2 points per game while scoring an incredible 41 points per game. This marks the fourth college football national championship in school history and the 2022-23 Bulldogs become the first team in the College Football Playoff Era to win back-to-back national championships.
“For years, the college football national champion has had the high honor of being hosted, by the President, at the White House. Due to COVID-19 constraints, the 2021-22 University of Georgia national championship team was unable to come to D.C. It is our hope that this repeat championship team can join the many teams prior that have been honored by the President.”
Breitbart also wrote about the view of Shannon Sharpe, who believes this reluctance to invite the team will hurt President Joe Biden’s chances of winning over the Black Community in 2024:
During an episode of the show Undisputed, Shannon Sharpe said that Jill Biden’s invitation could potentially turn enough black voters from turning away from the president due to Iowa being a mostly white team.
“Did you forget who helped put your husband in the White House? You gonna find out a very serious, hard lesson in ’24,” Sharpe said. “[Joe] will be like a Kentucky or Duke freshman. You’ll be one-and-done.”
Clay Travis of Outkick praised the Biden administration for listening to outlets like Fox News which were asking for the Georgia team to receive the customary invite. After a long and arduous fight, the Biden administration caved.
This morning I ripped the Biden White House for not inviting Georgia’s football team for a title visit the past two years. This evening the Biden White House invited Georgia to visit. Looks like they watch Fox News too. https://t.co/flPcgOvCOT
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) February 23, 2023
“This morning I ripped the Biden White House for not inviting Georgia’s football team for a title visit the past two years. This evening the Biden White House invited Georgia to visit. Looks like they watch Fox News too.”
The featured image is a screenshot from an embedded Tweet.
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