The New York Liberty played the Washington Mystics in the nation’s capital Thursday. It was their first game in D.C. and normally, when champion sports teams visit the White House, get their pictures taken with the President of the United States and enjoy a light meal.
The tradition, in fact, began back in 1865 when President Andrew Jackson hosted the Brooklyn Atlantics who played at a field a few blocks down Atlantic Avenue from where Barclays Center. The Atlantics visited because they had won the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players championship the previous season,
But this is 2025, the era of “not my president” and the tradition has waned.