Hudson, Budd lobby for White House visit for softball team

Published 4:30 pm Tuesday, August 27, 2019

SALISBURY — The Rowan County Little League softball team got some help Tuesday in its effort to secure a White House invitation from two congressmen who represent the county.

Reps. Richard Hudson, R-8, and Ted Budd, R-13, wrote a letter to President Donald Trump asking him to extend the same invitation to the softball team as he did to the 2019 Little League baseball World Series champions from Louisiana.

“We hope to see our Rowan County Little League softball team receive the same warm welcome,” Hudson and Budd wrote.

Their letter comes after softball Coach Steve Yang requested the same from Trump via Twitter on Sunday night.

“President Trump, my name is Steve Yang, and I am the head coach of Rowan LL in Salisbury, NC, that recently won the Softball Little League World Series in Portland, Oregon. Wanting to get an invite like the boys team from Louisiana,” Yang wrote.

By Tuesday afternoon, Yang had received more than 200 “retweets,” which help spread the post to others on the social media platform, and more than 300 “likes.”

The White House hadn’t made any announcements about scheduling a visit by Tuesday. And Trump’s tweets Tuesday included ones about the Federal Reserve, former Secretary of State John Kerry’s son, a tropical storm that’s expected to hit Puerto Rico, the G-7 conference in France and reports of bedbugs at his golf club in Doral, Florida.

Just two days earlier, Trump invited the Louisiana baseball team to the White House via Twitter, saying, “Congratulations to Louisiana’s champions. See you at the White House.”

Hudson and Budd wrote Tuesday that they are proud to see the Rowan team win its second championship in four years, beating a softball team from the same community in Louisiana — the East Bank near New Orleans — as the champion boys team by a score of 4-1.

“We believe that as world champions, these Rowan County all-stars deserve to be properly celebrated at the White House,” the congressmen wrote.