The LSU Tigers women’s basketball team got to celebrate their national title at the White House on Friday. It was a monumental moment, and perhaps the spotlight was a little too bright for one player on the team.
Kim Mulkey and her Tigers met with President Joe Biden following their victory over Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in the 2023 NCAA Women’s National Championship. Angel Reese, Alexis Morris, Flau’jae Johnson, and the rest of the team were on hand.
However, one of them passed out while standing behind President Biden on Friday.
According to Huffington Post’s Phil Lewis, the player in question was Sa’Myah Smith
“Coach Kim Mulkey says she is ‘fine, a little embarrassed,'” said Lewis.
There was a lot of drama long before LSU even showed up at the White House. First Lady Jill Biden had initially implied that she would ask her husband to invite both LSU and Iowa to the White House, despite tradition being that only the winning team gets invited to meet the President. There was a strong outcry from all sides, including Caitlyn Clark and Angel Reese.
In the end, cooler heads prevailed and only the Tigers were invited as expected.
Given all of their returning talent and the incoming transfer players they added this summer, it’s a decent bet that Mulkey’s team will be back in Washington, D.C. next year as well.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.