The celebration of LSU’s first-ever national championship is being met with unfair criticism of Angel Reese, one of the team’s star players.
Louisiana State University defeated the University of Iowa in the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball tournament. The celebration of LSU’s first-ever national championship is being met with unfair criticism of Angel Reese, one of the team’s star players. Near the end of the game that LSU won 102-85, Reese first waved her hand in front of her face (a taunt WWE wrestler John Cena popularized to signify ‘you can’t see me’), she then pointed to her ring finger. The gesture was directed at Caitlin Clark, the Iowa Hawkeye’s leading scorer. Critics deemed the move unsportsmanlike.
Sports and political commentator Keith Olbermann referred to Reese as a “fucking idiot” in a tweet. He further argued, “doesn’t matter the gender, the sport, the background – you’re seconds away from a championship and you do something like this and overshadow all the good.” In addition, Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy tweeted “Classless piece of shit” in response to Reese’s gesture. Others on social media argued that Reese stalked Clark during the matchup. Some suggested the referees should’ve given Reese a technical foul.
The biggest problem with condemnations of Reese’s gesture is that Clark did the exact same thing in Iowa’s tournament win over the University of Louisville. It wasn’t a move that was somewhat or perhaps disputably similar – it was the exact same ‘you can’t see me’ hand motion. Most sports commentators and fans praised Clark for it. They didn’t criticize her like they did Reese. Even the taunt’s architect, Cena, tweeted a video of Clark along with the words, “Even if they could see you… they couldn’t guard you!” Why are so many people treating the two tournament ballers so differently? Here’s one explanation: Clark is white, Reese is Black.
