Paul Pierce: Teams Visiting White House Is 'Overrated' in Today's Digital Time
Former NBA star Paul Pierce isn't a fan of White House visits by championship-winning sports teams.
Speaking to TMZ Sports in an interview published Saturday, Pierce called the traditional trip to Washington, D.C., "overrated."
"I think that's overrated," Pierce said. "Why you gotta visit the White House? You got your trophy, you won your championship. ... I don't know why we go to the White House. When did that start? ... Why did people even start going there?"
Pierce added that today's "digital time" means a president can congratulate a winning team without it visiting the White House.
His comments came after a number of teams have declined to visit the White House under President Donald Trump.
Villanova head coach Jay Wright told reporters during Thursday's Big East media day that his team hadn't received an invite from Trump. He added that the team would face difficulty attending at this point after losing players and staff from the 2017-18 title team.
Trump famously rescinded an invite to the two-time defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors after they won the first of their last two titles in June 2017. The president also canceled the Philadelphia Eagles' 2018 Super Bowl celebration after many members of the organization chose not to attend.
Visiting the White House after winning a championship became common starting with Ronald Reagan's presidency, though it first occurred in 1925 when the Washington Senators visited Calvin Coolidge the year after winning the World Series.
