The Georgia Bulldogs football team has declined an invitation to visit the White House to celebrate their second consecutive national championship.
This decision was announced in a statement from the University of Georgia Athletic Association.
“The University of Georgia first received on May 3 an invitation for the Bulldog football team to visit the White House on June 12,” the Athletic Association said. “Unfortunately, the date suggested is not feasible given the student-athlete calendar and time of year. However, we are appreciative of the invitation and look forward to other opportunities for Georgia teams moving forward.”
The Bulldogs did not visit the White House last year after winning the national championship due to COVID-19 concerns and safety precautions. In the team’s most recent season, they defeated TCU to win a second straight championship, yet did not receive an invite to the White House as all other championship teams have before them.
In February, Georgia defensive lineman Warren Brinson expressed his shock at not receiving the customary invitation by tweeting, “No invite to the White House is crazy.”
Georgia lawmakers also sent a request to President Biden to extend an invitation to the championship football team. This request was signed by U.S. Rep. Early LeRoy “Buddy” Carter, and Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.
“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,” wrote the Georgia lawmakers.
“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 added.
“For years, the college football national championship 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.”
Despite all of the efforts to secure an invitation to the White House, the Georgia football team still declined once President Biden finally extended the invite on May 3.
