NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal commented on first lady Jill Biden’s call to invite the Iowa women’s basketball team to the White House after the team was defeated by the LSU Tigers for the national championship, suggesting that race was a factor — the Iowa team is predominantly white.
An LSU alum, O’Neal also stated that Angel Reese, who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, was the best athlete to come out of the school — Reese was involved in a bit of a controversy after she stalked Iowa star player Caitlin Clark as the game came to an end, taunting her opponent for losing — a white player, Clark stood out throughout the tournament.
Mrs. Biden was at the game and said afterward that both teams should be invited to the White House — an unheard-of proposal, and O’Neal addressed the issue on “The Big Podcast.”
“Although we know she doesn’t make the decision, that caused a big uproar. What did you think about that? Because, you know, we are in this era of participation trophies,” co-host Nischelle Turner asked O’Neal, who is generally guarded with his views on issues.
The discussion begins below at the 16:42-minute mark:
“I want people to use their imaginations. You know what it was about. I’m not going to mention it,” Shaq said. “You know what it was about, right?”
“We can say it,” Turner interjected. “It became a race issue. It became a team of all black girls beating a team of all white girls. That’s what it became”
O’Neal replied to say that he “doesn’t like to throw that word around,” and Turner countered to say, “But that’s what society made it.”
The irony here is that if former first lady Melania Trump had been involved in a similar controversy it would have led the 6 o’clock news, but the agenda-driven media has largely given Jill Biden a pass here.
“So, in the history of me going to the White House and all the champions going to the White House, we never even mentioned the second team, right?” he added. “But the fact that it was that versus that, and the other [team] that lost, that’s when they wanted to make it a participation: ‘Oh, they lost, but they were there and all that.'”
Co-host Spice Adams weighed in to say that if Iowa had won, Mrs. Biden would not have suggested that LSU also visit the White House and O’Neal was in agreement.
“Everybody counted their chickens before they hatched,” O’Neal said. “Let me just explain why. Iowa’s championship game wasn’t that game; Iowa’s championship game was when they beat South Carolina — the almighty black girl team is undefeated, who’s gonna beat then and they beat them.”
“So, when they beat them, they got happy, and then when LSU came along, they thought they was going to, you know, run us over. But we had way too many dogs.”
Turner pushed back to promote Clark, “Two things can be true at the same time, LSU, they are those girls; Caitlyn Clark is that girl.”
The LSU alum was skeptical when Turner said Clark was a “bad girl,” chiming in to say “all the bad people I know close the deal.”
Earlier in the podcast, he said of Reese, “She’s probably the greatest athlete to ever come out of LSU sports. You heard it here first. Man and female… she got it done.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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