LSU freshman basketball player Sa’Myah Smith says she was feeling fine shortly after fainting in front of Joe Biden at the White House on Friday, but admits she doesn’t remember passing out as the President addressed the 2023 national champions.
‘I’m great, way better than earlier,’ Smith told NoLa.com. ‘I don’t quite remember how everything happened. I just remember waking up pretty scared. The last thing I remember is telling one of my coaches, ”Hey, I think I’m going to pass out.”’
Smith was standing alongside her teammates in the White House’s East Room on Friday when she began to feel lightheaded. After fainting, she was removed from the room in a wheelchair while her coach, Kim Mulkey, assured everyone that she was fine.
Biden took the opportunity to poke fun of himself, saying: ‘It’s a lot of standing. I apologize. It’s OK. It’s happened lots of times.’
In a statement, LSU explained that Smith felt overheated and nauseous before fainting. She will undergo further evaluations in Baton Rouge.
LSU freshman basketball player Sa’Myah Smith says she was feeling fine after fainting Friday
LSU’s Sa’Myah Smith is helped off stage after she appeared to collapse in the East Room
A 6-foot-2 forward out of Desoto, Texas, Smith averaged 4.6 points a game for LSU in 2022-23
She did receive an old-fashioned leather basketball, which Biden autographed.
‘Sa’Myah,’ Biden’s note began, ‘it was wonderful (to) have you at the White House. You are the best. /Joe Biden 5-26-23.’
A 6-foot-2 forward out of Desoto, Texas, Smith averaged 4.6 points a game for LSU in 2022-23 en route to the Lady Tigers’ national championship.
‘Folks, we witnessed history,’ Biden said of LSU. ‘In this team, we saw hope, we saw pride and we saw purpose. It matters.’