Morgan vows to skip White House if invited

29-year-old said she would not accept any invitation in the event of a US victory at the tournament

LOS ANGELES: Soccer star Alex Morgan said Thursday she will refuse to attend a White House visit if the United States successfully defend their World Cup crown this year.

Morgan, who has criticised the policies of President Donald Trump in the past, told Time Magazine she would not accept any invitation in the event of a US victory at the tournament, which kicks off in France in June.

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"I don't stand for a lot of things the current office stands for," Morgan, who appears on the cover of the latest edition of Time, told the magazine.

Morgan, 29, said she had no qualms about taking a political stand.

"We don't have to be put in this little box," Morgan said. "There's the narrative that's been said hundreds of times about any sort of athlete who's spoken out politically. 'Stick to sports.' We're much more than that, OK?"

Since the election of Trump in 2016, visits to the White House by championship-winning sports teams have become a political football.

Most recently, the Puerto Rican manager of the Boston Red Sox, Alex Cora, refused to attend a White House reception by the World Series-winning team.

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Boston's three African-American players -- 2018 American League Most Valuable Player Mookie Betts, pitcher David Price and centerfielder Jackie Bradley Jr -- also skipped the event.

According to one tally, of the 20 teams that have won championships in professional or US college sports, half have not been invited to attend or declined an invite, most notably the NBA champion Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018 and the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles in 2018.

Several teams which did attend receptions sent depleted squads.