WASHINGTON — President Biden’s White House celebration of the Louisiana State University women’s basketball team went sideways Friday afternoon when freshman forward Sa’Myah Smith collapsed during his remarks.
The 80-year-old president was left standing awkwardly at his East Room lectern for about six minutes as Smith was treated and removed from the room in a wheelchair.
“This is not the first time it has happened,” Biden said after the event resumed. White House guests have fainted in the past and required a check-up at a doctor’s office built into the executive mansion.
Smith, from DeSoto, Texas, played in all 36 games for the Tigers, averaging 4.6 points per game as the team won its first ever women’s basketball championship last month.
Biden hosted the team following uncertainty about whether the players would show up after first lady Jill Biden accidentally snubbed them by saying that the runners-up University of Iowa should also