Louisiana State University women's basketball star Angel Reese stated that she doesn't accept first lady Jill Biden's "apology" for wanting to invite both LSU and the University of Iowa teams to the White House even though LSU beat Iowa for the national championship over the weekend.

What's more, Reese suggested that LSU would visit former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama at their home instead of the White House.

What's the background?

Reese on Monday skewered Biden for wanting LSU and Iowa to come to the White House, calling such an idea "a joke":

\u201c\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23A JOKE. https://t.co/9SiOKQNqbj\u201d

— Angel Reese (@Angel Reese) 1680562634

Traditionally a White House invitation is solely reserved for the last team standing in a championship run, which was LSU. Nevertheless, ESPN reported that the first lady — who was in attendance Sunday when LSU beat Iowa 102-85 in the final — praised Iowa's sportsmanship and congratulated both teams Monday.

"I know we'll have the champions come to the White House; we always do. So we hope LSU will come," Biden said, according to ESPN. "But, you know, I'm going to tell [President] Joe [Biden] I think Iowa should come, too, because they played such a good game."

Early Tuesday morning Jill Biden's press secretary appeared to walk back the first lady's comments, saying they "were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes. She looks forward to celebrating the LSU Tigers on their championship win at the White House."

President Biden on Tuesday morning also tweeted a series of congratulatory messages to LSU and to the NCAA men's basketball champion, the University of Connecticut, adding that "I look forward to welcoming them at each of their White House visits." He didn't mention Iowa.

But the damage already may have been done.

'You can’t go back on certain things that you say'

Reese appeared on "The Paper Route Podcast" after Jill Biden appeared to walk back her comments and said she doesn't accept the first lady's "apology."

"I don’t accept the apology because you said what you said. … You can’t go back on certain things that you say," Reese told podcast hosts Brandon Marshall and Ashley Nicole Moss. "You felt like [Iowa] should have came because of sportsmanship, right? They can have that spotlight."

With that, Reese suggested that LSU would pay a visit to the Obamas instead of the White House: "We’ll go to the Obamas' [home]. We’ll see Michelle. We’ll see Barack."

Angel Reese Exclusive First Sit Down Post Championshipyoutu.be

In addition, Reese’s teammate Alex Morris asked Michelle Obama on Twitter if LSU could "come celebrate our win at your house" after Barack Obama tweeted his congratulations to the team, CNN reported, adding that a spokesperson for the Obamas declined to comment.

At present, it seems unclear whether LSU will go to the White House or not.

Reese commented “WE NOT COMING. period” on an Instagram post from “The Shade Room" in regard to a possible White House visit, CNN noted. But when asked during "The Paper Route" podcast if LSU would go to the White House, Reese replied, "We're gonna see; I don't know."

CNN added that LSU's athletics department said the team would “certainly accept an invitation.” LSU's coach Kim Mulkey said she would go to the White House if invited, ESPN reported.

Reese also said during the podcast that LSU wasn't interested in a locker room visit from the first lady before Sunday's title game, apparently because Joe Biden didn't predict that LSU would advance very far in the NCAA tournament.

Race debate

The deepening controversy — which kicked off with strong reactions to Reese returning a taunt to Iowa star Caitlin Clark — has evolved into a debate about race.

Reese implied as much during "The Paper Route" podcast: "I just know if the roles were reversed it wouldn't be the same. If we were to lose, we would not be getting invited to the White House." The women's basketball team at LSU is predominantly black, while Iowa's squad is predominantly white.

NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe ripped the first lady for the dual invites on Tuesday's episode of "The Undisputed," saying she "needs to sit down." Sharpe, who is black, added that "the people that won ... look like me, and the people that lost look like [Biden], now we're gonna invite the runner-up!"

He added that Biden is "a doctor," implying she should have known the competitive and racial dynamics between Iowa and LSU: "If she didn't know, she should have known before she opened her mouth and blurted this dumb scenario out!"

"Does Dr. Jill Biden understand how this looks? ... The losing side is white America, and she's like, 'You know what ...'" Sharpe figuratively asked the first lady, before adding, "Did you forget who put your husband in the White House?" and predicting that Joe Biden would suffer ratings losses if Iowa gets an invite.

Isn't it ironic?

Ironically Reese and Clark — the two women who began at the center of this cultural controversy — have no problems with each other.

Reese said during the podcast that she has no animosity toward Clark and has praised her playing ability, and Clark stated the same about Reese, telling ESPN that "Angel is a tremendous, tremendous player. I have nothing but respect for her. I love her game — the way she rebounds the ball, scores the ball, is absolutely incredible. I'm a big fan of her and even the entire LSU team. ... They played an amazing game."

Clark also said only LSU should go to the White House.

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University of Iowa star basketball player Caitlin Clark praised LSU's Angel Reese despite Reese's taunting gestures toward her in the women's national championship game Sunday — and added that only LSU as the champions should visit the White House.

What are the details?

Clark — winner of this year's Wooden Award for the best women's college basketball player — appeared on "SportsCenter" Tuesday and was asked about Reese's taunting gestures, ESPN reported.

Reese waved her hand in front her face at Clark — a way of saying "Can't see me!" — and also pointed at her ring finger to signify a championship. Reese later suggested it was payback for Clark making the "Can't see me!" gesture against South Carolina in their Final Four contest.

\u201c@Reese10Angel Angel Reese \u201cyou can\u2019t see me\u201d Caitlin Clark FULL BREAKDOWN\u201d

— Angel Reese (@Angel Reese) 1680542276

Indeed, OutKick said some were behind Reese for "giving Clark, a notorious trash talker, a taste of her own medicine."

Others didn't see it that way. Former ESPN anchor Keith Olbermann called Reese a "f***ing idiot" for her behavior, after which NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal ordered Olbermann to "shut your dumb a** up" and to "leave Angel Reese alone."

Later Olbermann said both Reese and Clark "were wrong" and added that "Reese was named MVP of the tournament, and nobody will remember that, nor the LSU crown, just the fact that women's hoops has now achieved parity with the men: its stars can be classless winners who are willing to overshadow their own team's victories."

But Clark had nothing but praise for Reese during her interview with ESPN's Jeremy Schaap.

"I don't think Angel should be criticized at all," Clark said, adding that "I'm just one that competes, and she competed. I think everybody knew there was going to be a little trash talk in the entire tournament. It's not just me and Angel."

Clark also said, "We're all competitive. We all show our emotions in a different way. You know, Angel is a tremendous, tremendous player. I have nothing but respect for her. I love her game — the way she rebounds the ball, scores the ball, is absolutely incredible. I'm a big fan of her and even the entire LSU team. ... They played an amazing game."

She added, according to ESPN: "I'm just lucky enough that I get to play this game and have emotion and wear it on my sleeve, and so does everybody else. So that should never be torn down. That should never be criticized because I believe that's what makes this game so fun. That's what draws people to this game. That's how I'm going to continue to play. That's how every girl should continue to play."

That Jill Biden controversy

Adding more fuel to the fire, first lady Jill Biden got an earful from Reese and NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe for stating that both LSU and Iowa should get White House invitations — a novel suggestion since traditionally only champion teams get such invites.

"I know we'll have the champions come to the White House; we always do. So we hope LSU will come," Biden said Monday, according to ESPN. "But, you know, I'm going to tell [President] Joe [Biden] I think Iowa should come too, because they played such a good game."

Reese ripped Biden's unorthodox invite suggestion with a succinct tweet Monday night, calling it "A JOKE" and adding a trio of laughing emojis:

\u201c\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23A JOKE. https://t.co/9SiOKQNqbj\u201d

— Angel Reese (@Angel Reese) 1680562634

Sharpe on Tuesday's edition of Fox Sports' "The Undisputed," which he co-hosts with Skip Bayless, said that the first lady "needs to sit down" in the wake of her comments.

Sharpe, who is black, added that "the people that won ... look like me, and the people that lost look like [Biden], now we're gonna invite the runner-up!"

UNDISPUTED | 'A JOKE' Shannon sounds off on Jill Biden & said she needs to sit down youtu.be

Early Tuesday morning Jill Biden's press secretary appeared to walk back the first lady's words regarding an Iowa invite to the White House, saying that "her comments ... were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes. She looks forward to celebrating the LSU Tigers on their championship win at the White House."

Clark says only LSU should go to White House

When asked about the Jill Biden controversy, Clark was emphatic that only LSU should go to the White House.

"That's for LSU," Clark said, according to ESPN. "... They should enjoy every single second of being the champion. I think that's theirs to do. I don't think runner-ups usually go to the White House. LSU should enjoy that moment for them. And congratulations, obviously; they deserve to go there. Maybe I could go to the White House [someday] on different terms."

Clark added, according to the sports network: "I just want to inspire young boys and young girls to be able to dream and do the same things that I have done. I was just that young girl. I looked up to WNBA players, NBA players, college athletes, even other pro sport athletes. All you have to do is dream, work really hard and be surrounded by really, really good people that believe in you, too."

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