WNBA Indiana Fever

Indiana Fever to be Honored at the White House

Published on June 11, 2013 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Indiana Fever News Release


The Indiana Fever visits the White House this week to be honored by President Barack Obama for its 2012 WNBA championship.

- For head coach Lin Dunn, it will be her first opportunity to meet a standing or past President of the United States. Her only visit inside the White House was with a tour of Girl Scouts when she was a youngster in the late 1950s. Dwight D. Eisenhower would have been President during that time.

- The most experienced White House visitor among the Fever party is assistant coach Mickie DeMoss who will make her seventh championship visit. She made six previous trips with the University of Tennessee. Her first visit was during the Ronald Reagan presidency. She also visited Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, but skipped the two terms that George W. Bush was in office.

- Tamika Catchings has crossed paths with U.S. Presidents on multiple occasions:

- She joined DeMoss on a visit to the Clinton White House after a Tennessee championship during her freshman season in 1998.

- In 2004, she was invited by George W. Bush and Laura Bush as personal guests to the 2004 State of the Union Address. She sat beside the First Lady and NFL star Tom Brady during the address.

- She first met presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008 when she served as the "referee" of a 3-on-3 basketball game in Kokomo, Ind., as part of his first campaign.

- She has since been invited to The White House for a pair of mentoring and leadership events, and she joined Michelle Obama in Des Moines, Iowa, in Spring 2012 to help launch her Let's Move! initiative to encourage fitness among youth.

- Stephanie White and Katie Douglas made a championship visit in 1999 when Bill Clinton was President, following an NCAA title with Purdue.

- Joining the Fever cast at the home of the American President this week will be a pair of foreigners who helped Indiana to its 2012 title - Canadian Tammy Sutton-Brown and Australian Erin Phillips.

- Perhaps the most unique White House visitor this week is newcomer Erin Thorn who will be a part of the White House championship "audience" for a second straight season. She was a free agent with Minnesota in 2012 when the Lynx visited President Obama to honor the 2011 WNBA title. She was a part of the Lynx team that lost to Indiana in the Finals last October, but she joined the Fever a week ago, in time to take part in this week's visit.

Check out the Indiana Fever Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from June 11, 2013


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central