The Georgia Bulldogs will not visit the White House to celebrate their national championship victory. The team declined the invitation last year due to COVID-19 safety measures, and this year the suggested date was not feasible given the student-athlete calendar and time of year. Despite criticism from defensive lineman Warren Brinson and others, President Joe Biden had initially not extended an invitation. However, after a request from political leaders and a tweet from Brinson, an invitation was sent to the Bulldogs. The last college football team to visit the White House to commemorate their victory was LSU in 2020. Other championship teams, such as the Toronto Raptors and the Los Angeles Lakers, did not visit the White House during former President Donald Trump’s term, and pandemic restrictions made visits more difficult.
Fox News: Georgia, back-to-back national champions, again will not make trip to White House
Ryan Morik; May 9, 2023
The Georgia Bulldogs again will not visit the White House to celebrate a national championship.
The school did not attend last year after winning its first of back-to-back titles. The team defeated TCU, 65-7, this past January to win its second straight.
“Unfortunately, the date suggested is not feasible given the student-athlete calendar and time of year,” an athletic department spokesperson told Dawg Nation. “However, we are appreciative of the invitation and look forward to other opportunities for Georgia teams moving forward.”
President Joe Biden originally did not invite the Bulldogs, which garnered plenty of criticism. COVID-19 safety precautions prevented Georgia from visiting last year, but defensive lineman Warren Brinson let his displeasure be heard on Twitter in February, saying it was “crazy” the team had not yet been invited this time around.
However, after the tweet and request signed by U.S. Rep. Earl LeRoy “Buddy” Carter as well as Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, an invitation has been sent.
“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,” they continued.
“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,” the officials wrote.
Both the UConn men’s and LSU’s women’s basketball teams will visit the White House on May 26.
A college football champion has not visited the White House since LSU did so to celebrate its 2020 title. The 2021-2022 NBA champion Golden State Warriors visited the White House in January after not doing so in 2017 and 2018 while former President Donald Trump was in office.
Neither the Toronto Raptors nor the Los Angeles Lakers, the winners of the 2019 and 2020 NBA Finals, visited the White House to commemorate their titles, but the Milwaukee Bucks made the trip to visit Biden in November 2021.
The last championship team to visit Trump in office was the 2019 Washington Nationals, five days after their World Series victory over the Houston Astros. The pandemic made visits tougher and, by the time restrictions started to be lifted, Biden had taken office.
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