Vice President Kamala Harris Celebrates NCAA Sports Day at the White House
In her first public remarks since President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential election and endorsed her as the Democratic Party’s new nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris celebrated NCAA Sports Day at the White House. The event honored national collegiate athletic association (NCAA) championship teams from the 2023-2024 season.
Harris opened her remarks by apologizing for Biden’s absence, citing his recovery from COVID-19. She then praised his years of public service and moved on to celebrate the athletes, coaches, and staff who make NCAA sports possible. “I am honored to welcome all of you to the White House to celebrate the achievements of these great athletes,” Harris said. “Every one of them is a national champion. In America, tens of millions of people play a sport as a child, and the best of the best grow up to become national champions.”
Harris congratulated the teams on their accomplishments, highlighting seven coaches who led their teams to undefeated seasons. Eleven of them repeated as champions, and 20 were first-time winners. She was particularly excited to mention that six of the assembled coaches will be representing Team USA at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
As members of Team USA, Harris said, “you are ambassadors for our nation and with pride we will cheer you on. And we look forward to congratulating you when you bring home the gold.”
In her final remarks, Harris acknowledged the sacrifices made by athletes to achieve success in college sports. “And to all of our athletes, I know it was not easy to make it to this moment,” she said. “Each of you has faced challenges and obstacles, and you have endured. You have fought back and fought through and by doing so, you demonstrated that true greatness requires more than skill. It requires grit and determination.”
Harris thanked the people who stood by the athletes every step of the way, including friends, family members, coaches, athletic trainers, and teachers. She ended her speech by congratulating the athletes on everything they’ve accomplished and wishing them good luck.
“Wherever you all go from here, you will always — and know this — you will always be champions and we will always be so proud of you,” Harris said.
Harris won’t officially become the Democratic nominee for president until the DNC Convention takes place from August 19 to 22 in Chicago. Until then, she is the presumptive nominee, the second woman in history to be in such a position for a major political party.
