Washington, Oct. 9 : As President Barack Obama got ready to play basketball with his Cabinet secretaries and congressmen on Thursday, the White House is facing questions over why no women were invited for the game.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs admitted the mistake saying: “I would say that the point''s well taken. As the father of two young daughters, Obama has an avid interest in their competing against anybody on the playing field.

“The president''s certainly played basketball and other sports with women in the past, and I anticipate he''ll do so in the future.”

Obama played basketball with four Cabinet secretaries and 11 members of Congress — all men, Politico reports.

The Cabinet members were-- Treasury’s Tim Geithner, Education’s Arne Duncan, Interior’s Ken Salazar and Housing and Urban Development chief Shaun Donovan.

Two Republican House members were included on the list — Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.). Gibbs said some of the congressmen invited also play in a regular game among House members.

On being asked whether he would also play, Gibbs said he has been there, done that, and realized that the game doesn’t suit him.

“I played a few weeks ago with the president and, about 15 minutes into the whole affair, I turned my ankle and spent the next five days with it sitting in a bucket of ice,” he said. (ANI)