South Carolina Women’s basketball team declines visit to White House

South Carolina’s women’s basketball team will not going to the White House.

The 2017 Women’s NCAA Champions reportedly declined an invitation to the White House. The team would have been part of a larger event, where president Donald Trump would meet with other NCAA champions.

As of September, head coach Dawn Staley said she and her team had not been invited by the current administration. “We haven’t gotten an invitation yet and that in itself speaks volumes,” though Staley had said the team would go if invited.

According to The State, South Carolina received its invitation early in November but is declining so that it can focus on their upcoming season:

“We did hear from the White House about attending tomorrow’s event, but we will not be able to attend,” Staley said. “As I’ve been saying since our practices for this season started, all of our focus is on the season ahead. The only invitation we are thinking about is to the 2018 NCAA Tournament.”

The Gamecocks aren’t the only team to not visit the White House under Donald Trump’s administration. The Golden State Warriors released a statement in September saying they would make a decision as a team whether they would make the visit. Trump then rescinded the team’s invitation though it was clear from Stephen Curry’s comments days before that he would not go. The NCAA Champion North Carolina Tarheels men’s basketball team also isn’t going. The team said they could not agree on a date for an official visit.