What bad blood?
LSU star Angel Reese and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden embraced it Friday when the NCAA champion Tigers visited the White House.
Reese took offense at Biden’s response to LSU’s 102-85 win over Iowa on April 2, expressing a desire to invite both teams to D.C.
The 21-year-old publicly rejected the First Lady’s idea of a double invitation — which was also reversed by White House staff — only to say she would join her teammates in D.C. during an appearance on “SportsCenter.” on April 7.
If there were any bad feelings between the two, it didn’t show when the Tigers celebrated their first NCAA title with President Joe Biden.
“In this room, I definitely see the best of the best,” said Jill Biden.
“Every basket was pure joy and I couldn’t stop thinking about how far women’s sport has come,” she added. “We’ve made so much progress and we still have so much work to do.”
Recently announced Sports Illustrated model, Reese, hugged Jill and presented the First Lady with a custom white LSU jersey with “FLOTUS” on the name tag.
The team posed for photos with Jill and President Biden, who also received a custom Lady Tigers jersey – both with number 46 on the front and back to commemorate his presidential number – in a ceremony that was briefly marred by Tigers- college freshman Sa’Myah Smith who passed out.
“People, we witnessed history,” he said. “In this team we saw hope, we saw pride and we saw purpose. It is important.
“People, we have to support women’s sport, not just in the championships, all year and every season.”
The president also joked that Reese — who is one of the NCAA’s top NIL earners — “has let the price go up,” according to Highlight Her’s Ari Chambers.
Reese, who announced her latest NIL deal with Mielle Organics this week, has a NIL valuation of $1.4 million with a total of 26 NIL deals across her portfolio of brands as of May 2023, including Raising Cane’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Calvin Klein , Bose and Coach.
Her star rose after amid the Tigers’ title run, with her taunting of Hawkeyes scorer Caitlin Clark – as well as her title double-double – earning her headlines.
When Jill Biden suggested she invite both teams to the White House, “because they played such a good game,” Reese called it “A JOKE.”
The 21-year-old, named “Most Outstanding Player” of the Final Four at the 2023 March Madness Tournament, changed her tune and told “SportsCenter” she would visit the White House and do what’s best for the nation. team.
“We were hurt at first — it was emotional because we know how hard we worked all year for everything,” Reese said. “You don’t get that experience [to go to the White House] someday, and I know my team probably definitely wants to go and my coaches support that, so I’m going to do what’s best for the team and we’ve decided that we’re going.
“I’m a team player,” Reese added. “I’m going to do what’s best for the team. I’m the captain.”
Reese — who turned 21 this month and bought a Mercedes-Benz — is entering her junior year at LSU.
