Nov. 22 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump greeted athletes during NCAA Collegiate National Champions Day at the White House on Friday.
Trump briefly mentioned the economy, China and the impeachment inquiry and posed for photographs with champions in nonrevenue sports who gathered in various rooms in the White House.
"We're having a great year," Trump said. "This has been an amazing year for our economy. And meeting these athletes -- they're real athletes, I can tell you. It's a tremendous achievement."
Ahead of Friday's meeting, some members of the Columbia University fencing team prepared a letter to Trump, criticizing the president for efforts related to Title IX protections, reproductive health and sexual assault.
"[W]hile ours is a victory born from values of gender equality, yours is one shadowed by continued acts of gender-based prejudice and partisanship," the letter reads.
Some members of the team declined to attend the event, citing the example of professional athletes, including U.S. Women's National Soccer Team star Megan Rapinoe and NBA star Stephen Curry.
Others chose to to raise issues of concern, wearing white buttons in "solidarity with those impacted by gender-based discrimination."