Why Dawn Staley, South Carolina women's basketball didn't go to White House for 2 other titles
WASHINGTON — Dawn Staley has won three championships as South Carolina women's basketball coach, but after the first two, she never went to the White House to be honored with the Gamecocks.
That changed Tuesday as they are in the nation's capital to celebrate their NCAA title for the first time, despite being invited twice before. The ceremony with President Joe Biden starts at 11 a.m.
The Gamecocks won for the first time in program history in 2017 with now WNBA star A'ja Wilson, and won five years later in 2022.
JUST IN@dawnstaley and the #Gamecocks have received an invite from the White House for winning last year's national title. USC is declining the invitation. Here's Staley's full statement. @abc_columbia pic.twitter.com/M5gVQ6CQMP
— Mike Gillespie (@MikeAGillespie) November 17, 2017
In 2017, Staley declined the invitation in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. The invitation reportedly came after she publicly said the Gamecocks weren't contacted about a White House visit even though teams who won championship titles after South Carolina received an invitation. By the time they were contacted, the 2018 season was the main focus.
During the 2022 championship parade in Columbia, Rep. James Clyburn extended the invitation on behalf of the president to visit the White House. Clyburn said at the parade that it was up to both the Gamecocks and the White House to work out a date, but they reportedly didn't find a time that worked before South Carolina was in the peak of its season.
Staley walked with first lady Jill Biden in the presidential delegation during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics in July. Staley was at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 22 when Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz became the party's candidates for president and vice president in the 2024 election.
Harris visited the Gamecocks during a practice in Columbia in January 2024 when she was in South Carolina speaking at an event held by the NAACP on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Why Dawn Staley, South Carolina didn't go to White House in 2017, 2022
