UNC skipping White House visit due to scheduling issue

Sep 24, 2017 - 12:51 AM The defending national champion North Carolina men's basketball team is not visiting the White House but the school said Saturday it is because of a scheduling conflict and not due to President Donald Trump.

"We couldn't find a date that worked for both parties," a North Carolina spokesman told the Raleigh News and Observer. "We tried about eight or nine dates and between they couldn't work out that date, we couldn't work out that date, so we would have liked to have gone, but (we're) not going."

Before and after beating Gonzaga in the championship game on April 3, Williams did not offer any commitments if the school would accept an invitation to visit Trump.

During the ACC tournament, Williams was highly critical of Trump when answering a question about social media.

"Now everybody's got social media, and we don't need the New York Times to find out what in the dickens is going on in this country," Williams said at the time. "You know, our president tweet out more bulls-- than anybody I've ever seen. We've got social media."

North Carolina visited the White House after winning championships in 1993 and 2009. They did not visit in 2005 due to a scheduling issue.

North Carolina's announcement occurred hours after Trump responded to Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry desire not to visit the White House. In a twitter post Saturday morning, Trump wrote: "Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team. Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!

Several pro athletes and coaches, especially in the NBA, have spoken out against Trump's actions since last November's election.