Georgia's Kirby Smart insists no political motives behind White House invite decline

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Georgia will forgo the White House visit to celebrate their college football national championship, and on Wednesday, Kirby Smart insisted there was no political motive behind it.

Smart told the Athens Banner-Herald that the inability to accept the invitation was a "tough deal."

"Timeline-wise it didn’t work," he said.

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Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart during the G-Day Red and Black Spring Game on April 15, 2023, at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. (John Adams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Smart explained there is a youth football camp in June at the football facility and made it impossible to accept the invitation for what is being called "College Athlete Day" on June 12.

"We didn’t have a date set, and we’ve got 700 kids at a football camp at our place June 6, 7, 8," he said. "It’s the number one time for recruiting for football coaches. You’ve got 600 to 700 kids coming to your campus, you can’t leave to go to the White House and have no one on your campus. So the time just didn’t work out. There was nothing political about it. I’ve been before. It’s very educational. It’s a great experience."

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Georgia Bulldogs QB Gunner Stockton, #14, with Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart watching closely during the G-Day Red and Black Spring Game on April 15, 2023, at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. (John Adams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Smart called the opportunity to visit the White House educational and noted that in the past the celebrations were