South Carolina women's basketball team declines White House invite

Too little too late, Trump.

The South Carolina women's basketball team, which won its first NCAA national championship this April, has declined President Trump's invitation to visit the White House, according to Bleacher Report.

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The White House invited numerous college championship teams to an event on Friday. South Carolina Gamecocks Head Coach Dawn Staley confirmed that her team did receive an invite. But Staley declined on behalf of the Gamecocks, reportedly because she wants them to focus on their current season.

"As I've been saying since our practices for this season started, all of our focus is on the season ahead," Staley said. "The only invitation we are thinking about is to the 2018 NCAA tournament."

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But the timeline, and Staley's past statements, may tell a different story.

It is customary for presidents to congratulate NCAA teams in the months after the Spring championship. However, according to a report from the Associated Press, by September, Staley's Gamecocks had not received an invitation to the White House.

Meanwhile, the men's championship team from North Carolina had reportedly been in conversation with the current administration about a visit.

“We haven’t gotten an invitation yet and that in itself speaks volumes,” Staley told the AP. “We won before those other teams won their championships. I don’t know what else has to happen.”

With their current season underway, seems like keeping their eye on the ball is a solid strategy.

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