“You played hard; you played down to the last second,” said Harris, class of ’86 at DC’s historically black university. “You made all of us Bison very, very proud. You rushed over there. You’re smart. You are disciplined. You put everything you had into the game. And you know that’s what it’s all about, right?
Harris happily noted the historical significance. “I was at Howard on the day that we were happy to have a game, let alone get to this place,” he said.
“I know you may not feel good right now, it’s okay, but I know who you are,” she added. “You are excellence. You are hard work. you are powerful and you are winners”.
The vice president, accompanied in Des Moines, Iowa, by Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, invited team members on a tour of the White House in case they wanted to “play hooky” for an afternoon.
In an earlier show of support for the school’s sports program, Harris conducted the ceremonial coin toss at Howard’s football game against Hampton University in 2021.
