Iowa women don’t need sympathy, or to be coddled
Jill Biden's request for Iowa women to visit White House was bad idea
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Facing widespread backlash and ridicule, First Lady Jill Biden has stepped back from her request to have the Iowa women’s basketball team visit the White House as part of the tradition to honor national champions.
That was the right thing to do after Jill Biden had made such a ridiculous and unprecedented request to have a runner-up share the stage with a national champion.
Jill Biden appears to have gotten caught up in the moment after having attended this past Sunday’s national championship game in which LSU defeated Iowa 102-85 in Dallas.
The game featured two of the top players in women’s college basketball in Iowa junior guard Caitlin Clark and LSU forward Angel Reese.
The game also had 9.9 million viewers and peaked at 12.9 million viewers, making it the most viewed NCAA Division I women’s college basketball game on record across all networks.
The level of interest in the game shows just how far women’s basketball has come as a sport.
Unfortunately, the game itself left much to be desired, mostly due to poor officiating.
The biggest storyline from the game is the mixed reaction to Reese having taunted Clark with hand gestures after the outcome was all but decided near the end.
Reese specifically gave Clark the “you can’t see me” gesture created by wrestler John Cena—a gesture Clark had also used during the tournament.
Cena even acknowledged Clark’s gesture on Twitter.
Near the end of Sunday’s championship game, Reese appeared to point at her ring finger several times while staring down and following Clark when the junior guard was walking to her bench.
Clark tried to downplay the incident afterwards, saying she didn’t see Reese make either gesture in the moment, while Reese defended her actions at her post-game press conference.
“I don’t fit in the box that y’all want me to be in,” Reese said. “I’m too hood, I’m too ghetto, y’all told me that all year. But when other people do it, y’all don’t say nothing. So, this was for the girls that look like me.”
The fact that Clark is white, and Reese is black, has now triggered a widespread debate in which sports celebrities are picking sides, as are the people on social media.
Clark’s supporters are being called racists, while Reese’s supporters are being criticized for being “woke” whatever that means.
Both labels are unfair.
Clark’s supporters are saying that her hand gestures weren’t nearly as extreme or confrontational as what Reese did, while Reese’s supporters are saying she is being judged more harshly because she is black.
Both sides could be right in this case since Clark has made hand gestures and is known for talking trash, but has faced little criticism, while Reese followed Clark around the court for multiple seconds and made it abundantly clear that she was taunting Clark.

Reese took the taunting and trash talk to another level, but she was also responding to Clark’s taunting and trash talk in previous games.
Clark gets criticized for being too emotional on the court, and for complaining about calls.
It’s the price she pays for her personality, and for her success because Clark clearly has a target on her back, and it could be partly from jealousy.
But Clark also deserves praise for not causing this controversy to escalate.
Clark didn’t respond to Reese on the court, and she tried to downplay the incident after the game.
But as for Jill Biden’s request to invite Iowa to the White House, it sent the wrong message in a number of ways.
Clark and her cohorts don’t need sympathy or pity from anyone, including the First Lady of the United States.
And why should LSU have to share the stage with a team if defeated by 17 points?
Jill Biden hasn’t asked for NCAA runner-up San Diego State to join national champion Connecticut for the men’s celebration at the White House because that would be as silly and misguided as asking the Iowa women to attend.
The White House celebration is for national champions, not for teams that finish second.
Reese called Jill Biden’s request a joke, which seems to be Reese’s way of saying it was a really bad idea.
Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder posted her feelings on Twitter Tuesday afternoon, and what Bluder said was spot on.
“I gratefully acknowledge the First Lady’s sentiments, but a day at the White House should belong solely to the champion, LSU and coach Mulkey,” Bluder said. “We would welcome the First Lady and the President to come to Iowa’s “House” Carver-Hawkeye Arena – any time!”
Clark hasn’t asked for sympathy or to be coddled, and she actually defended Reese in an interview with ESPN on Tuesday.
“I don’t think Angel should be criticized at all,” Clark said to ESPN. “No matter what way it goes, she should never be criticized for what she did. I compete, she competed.
“It was a super, super fun game. I think that’s what’s going to bring more people to our game.”
Clark might rub some people the wrong way, but the way in which she has handled this controversy is first class. She has risen above the divisiveness and tried to bring both sides together for the good of the game.
Clark is very dedicated to helping women’s basketball grow and she has no interest in lashing out, and that says a lot about her character.
Jill Biden’s original request to invite Iowa gives the impression that the Iowa women, and women in general, are fragile and incapable of handling a devastating loss when that isn’t the case at all.
Women might show more emotion than men in some situations, but that doesn’t make women more vulnerable.
Clark and her cohorts don’t need a participation trophy because they’re as tough and resilient as any men’s team.
They don’t need to be rewarded for playing hard because every team plays hard in the national championship game.
LSU has earned the right to visit the White House because it won the national title.
Iowa has earned our respect and admiration, and nobody from Iowa is asking for anything more than that because that should be enough.
I gratefully acknowledge the First Lady’s sentiments, but a day at the White House should belong solely to the champion, LSU and Coach Mulkey. We would welcome the First Lady and President to come to Iowa’s “House” – Carver Hawkeye Arena — any time!
— Lisa Bluder (@LisaBluder) April 4, 2023