On Tuesday, the Las Vegas Golden Knights won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. And as is tradition, they received congratulations from the President of the United States, who will play host to them the next time they’re in Washington, D.C.
Joe Biden took to Twitter and called it “The first major professional franchise in such a proud American city.”
Congrats to the Vegas @GoldenKnights on their first Stanley Cup in just their sixth season. The first major professional franchise in such a proud American city.
Today, the team and entire community are champions.
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 14, 2023
While the Las Vegas Women’s National Basketball Association won a championship in 2022, they were not the first professional team in Sin City. The Golden Knights were founded in 2017, while the Aces were relocated from San Antonio in 2018.
And while that may be the case, Aces star A’ja Wilson, who took exception to Biden’s tweet, raised a curious point. Wilson asked when the Aces were visiting the White House, suggesting they have yet to receive an invitation from the Biden administration, despite winning it all last September.
Twitter not letting me quote tweet potus tweet but …BFFR 😐😐 when is our White House visit cause … pic.twitter.com/o9uc88Qg6U
— A'ja Wilson (@_ajawilson22) June 14, 2023
While it’s currently unknown whether or not the Aces were invited, the Seattle Storm were invited to the White House after their 2020 WNBA Championship win.
Pres. Joe Biden poses at the White House with the Seattle Storm after their 2020 WNBA Championship win. https://t.co/0yBXabYpSr pic.twitter.com/Gr7UERgVlu
— ABC News (@ABC) August 23, 2021
The Chicago Sky, who won the 2021 finals, also did not visit the White House, rather opting to meet with former President Barack Obama in the nation’s capitol instead. This meeting with Obama, a Chicago native, was organized by the team’s ownership.
It was great meeting with our reigning @WNBA champs, the @ChicagoSky! I am incredibly proud of these athletes, who represent the best of our city—on and off the court. pic.twitter.com/c3TigpxseZ
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 8, 2022
Many of those in the sports world took exception to Biden’s perceived snub of the Aces on social media:
— Anaïs López (@anaislopez23) June 15, 2023
— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) June 15, 2023
The golden knights weren't the first team to bring a pro title to Vegas. The Las Vegas aces were. You owe them a visit to the White House. As the 2022 WNBA champions.
— Vicki Mainard 🇦🇺🕹🏀🐈 (@vmainard) June 14, 2023
It doesn’t appear that Biden was trying to slight the Aces with his comments, but they obviously should have been invited to the White House, if they haven’t been already.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.