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Kirby Smart declining White House visit predictable and practical but not political
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Kirby Smart declining White House visit predictable and practical but not political
ATHENS — Georgia coach Kirby Smart is about as predictable as they come when it comes to anticipating his stance on football issues.
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Off topic but why isn't there anything on this?
Jalen Carter, recently selected with the Philadelphia Eagles' No. 9 pick in the NFL Draft, is now named in a $40 million lawsuit related to his involvement in a deadly car crash that killed his Georgia teammate Devin Willock and university staffer Chandler LeCroy.
Dave Willock Sr., Devin's father, filed the complaint against Carter, the university's athletic association and LeCroy's estate. LeCroy was driving the SUV Willock was in at the time of the crash — which police said reached up to 104 mph. Police also reported the 24-year-old LeCroy had a blood alcohol concentration of .197, more than twice the legal limit in Georgia.
The suit is seeking $40 million from the defendants, including $10 million from Carter. The amount "represents what his son would have made if he had gotten to the NFL," according to a report from WSB-TV. Willock, an offensive lineman, appeared in every game Georgia played last season.
Not making this political at all. Just doing a comparison. In 2019, Clemson won the national title on January 7. They were eating burgers in the White House on January 14. In the middle of a government shutdown.
Anomaly? Nope. LSU visited the White House January 17, 2020. In 2018 Alabama visited the White House April 10, before their spring game on April 21. And in 2016 Alabama visited March 2. In 2015, Ohio State visited April 20. So that is both administrations prior to this one and a bunch of different schools on different schedules.
So why on earth was the invite made in May? For a visit that would take place in June? After a ton of guys have graduated? Plus the dozen or more guys that are now with NFL teams? And the guys that have hit the portal? Right after summer workouts start and during the middle of one of the most important recruiting periods?
It was almost as if the administration didn't want them to come in the first place.
Most everyone has forgotten that this invitation only came AFTER the Georgia legislature encouraged it to happen. Both basketball champions were invited barely over a month of their wins. Georgia’s invite is 5 months past our win and other champions were invited the same day.
This is such a joke of an opinion piece by Mike trying to back this terrible administration. Every national champion gets an invitation to the White House immediately or soon after winning the title. Anyone with a good feel for this program knows that CKS purposely declined the invite because it came 5 months after winning the national championship.
Sooooo true. The real question I've never heard asked, much less answered, in the major media outlets (maybe it's out there and I just missed): what is the "why?" of the delayed invite? It seems unprecedented vs the years in which NCAAF teams were invited for the invitation itself to come four months later. Why wasn't it within days?
Maybe it was the accident? Even then, you'd think a team tragedy would be even more reason to honor those who remain and remember those two lost...
Yeah...I'm kind of split, on this one. But, I come down on the side of "not going". The 2 main reasons are....
1. Most of the players responsible for the last 2 Championships, are gone. They weren't invited or acknowledged, by the WH in 2022, either. The WH knew darned well, there was no way Kirby would allow his team to be disrupted...in June, of all times. This WAS "political"....on the part of the WH and POTUS.
2. This will be used by Kirby as motivational material. He's chasing un unprecedented "Three-Peat". He has a lot of players on the team, that didn't do much, if anything (directly), to "earn" a trip to the WH.
I can hear him now...."Men...If you want to go into the History books...if you want to walk into the White House, in 2024, as part of a Historic team...let's go win it all for the Gipper."......oh, wait....that's part of another story. Nevermind. Lol
You can bet..."they'll be invited, EARLY in 2024...if they "win it all", again. It's an "Election Year", dontcha' know. Biden is gonna want those Georgia votes.
Definitely with you on in the “don’t go”… as soon as I heard a June date? Crazy. It’s like they don’t even understand college football (or even college). Certainly, after graduation is just ludicrous. Agree with another poster that it seems like maybe they never wanted them to come in the first place. Super odd…
I can totally see Smart nixing the trip for practical reasons. His staff is scattered to the four winds, working on the future of the Dawgs. A big batch of the players who won the Natty have moved on. His returning players are likely scattered during the bit of down time.
It might have worked if they'd been asked for the foto op in January. But even then, we heard Smart talk about getting back into it after a few days of R&R.
Georgia was a blue state in the last presidential election. The President has no reason to have any ill will towards our great state or its collegiate programs. It was just a scheduling conflict.
@Oldddawg76
No, trips to the White House play excellent on the recruiting trail. It is a commercial for your program. So yes, had the White House made the invite in a timely fashion, or even tried to get them up there before spring practice, then you had better believe the sports information department would have done a supercut of the event to show to Dylan Raiola and the other recruits, just as Clemson, Alabama etc. did with their visits. It is just that taking the trip in the middle of June when Stetson Bennett IV - the biggest star on the team - is among the dozen guys trying to earn an NFL roster spot (Warren Ericson's attempt to earn a spot on the Broncos' practice squad starts today) makes no sense. It also makes no sense to make the trip either without AD Mitchell - whom UGA absolutely needed to win the title - or with him as Mitchell is now at Texas and hoping to make the playoff and beat UGA in it (the same is true to varying extents for Bear Alexander, Dom Blaylock and a bunch of other guys, as well as some guys that UGA will have to cut loose by June in order to get down to 85).
Now to be 100% fair, Clemson chose to visit in mid-June way back in 2016. But there was a legitimate excuse: in January/February the Obama administration was clearing out, the Trump administration was coming in and yes the transition was total chaos - again not getting political just stating facts - but that isn't what was going on here. In 2021 the Biden administration used the pandemic as an excuse not to invite Alabama, even though those same coaches and athletes had played an entire football season with no major outbreaks (despite claims of mass deaths and calamity from everyone over the decision to have the season). In 2022 the same excuse was given not to invite UGA even though the administration declared the pandemic crisis to be over way back in September, 4 months prior. This time there was no excuse: no transition, no re-election campaign, no government shutdown, no war etc. It really just seems that they were flat out determined to break the tradition of inviting the championship football team to the White House. If that is their goal, fine. I have read a number of oped columnists and sportswriters claim that the tradition of inviting championship sports teams to the White House is a rather recent one that needs to end for a variety of reasons. They need to come out and say it and to say why.
Guarantee you that Kirby uses their late invitation as an anecdote about being disrespected in order to rally the team.
Yeah...I thought so, too. But, remember it was his political party that pushed to get the "MLB All Star Game" moved out of our State..."because of our "racist Election Laws". He was lucky in 2020....people were voting AGAINST a certain person...not, necessarily FOR Him. Lol...hasn't worked out too well, has it.
I'm not sure, if it's "political"...or not...but, what i do know, is...
They didn't invite or acknowledge UGA in 2021-2022, when they "won it all", with one of the greatest defenses of all time.
They didn't invite or acknowledge UGA, in 2022-2023, when they "won it all", after a dominant season, in which they "ran the table".
That obvious and glaring oversight was corrected....AFTER they were shamed into it....and....AFTER they invited and acknowledged an NCAA Women's Basketball Champion, a mere ~2 wks after the CG....(LSU)....and stepped on their own "political toes", by acknowledging and inviting the "Loser" of that Championship game...UCONN....insulting the "Winning" team...LSU. Lmao
This WH appears to be so incompetent...I doubt they know whether or not it's political. I'd be willing to bet, the DNC said to the WH...'What the hell are ya doing? We might not have a Senatorial Election in Georgia this cycle...but, we're still gonna need their votes in the Presidential and local elections. You can't just cut them out, cause you despise em.".
Remember....Obama was "shocked", when he found out Georgia was "in-play" for his Party, in October 2020. Before that, they barely bothered campaigning here. That tells you everything you need to know, about where Ga. sits on the "WH priority list". Lol
The Dawgs will take over the White House, in 2024....after they win the 3-peat. And, I for one...am looking forward to it. Kirby for President. Lol