Online commentary followed a photo of the UGA national champion women’s tennis team standing behind male coaches and administrators.
ATHENS, Ga. — The Georgia women’s tennis team was recognized this week, alongside other NCAA champion teams, in a visit to the White House. The composition of their photo with President Donald Trump wound up generating attention on its own.
The photo featured the women’s tennis players in the background, posing with the president, while male coaches and athletic administrators were in the foreground.
UGA won the indoor national championship in February; the outdoor NCAA tournament begins on May 1 (UGA won the 2025 title and the tournament semifinals and championship will be hosted in Athens).
As just one example of tone of the replies the photo received, Georgia state Senator Elena Parent (D-Atlanta) wrote: “Must be a man in charge of the social media feed for UGA women’s tennis. How clueless can you get?!” A separate posting of the photo, by White House Communications Advisor Margo Martin, got 2,000 replies, many of them sardonic and biting.
The university athletics program, for its part, said in a statement to 11Alive this week the women’s tennis team was honored to be at the White House with other national championship teams.
“This was a day set aside to recognize numerous national champions across the country,” the UGA Athletic Association said in a statement. “We were honored that our women’s tennis team was chosen and continue to be proud of their outstanding success.”
A separate video posted by Martin showed the president arriving for the photo op and speaking to the players.
The reaction to the photo spread far enough that Flavor Flav, the rapper and entertainer, shouted out an invite to a parade in Las Vegas this summer. “I’ll put y’all front and center to kick off the parade,!!” he wrote.
There was no word on if the team might try to go to the parade.
