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Angel Reese’s celebration after winning LSU’s first NCAA women’s national championship showed the same old double standard between Black and White women.
LSU star Angel Reese sent social media into a frenzy after winning the school’s first NCAA women’s national championship Sunday night. As the final buzzer sounded, Reese hit Caitlin Clark with a taste of her own medicine, some trash talk on her way to winning the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
Using the same John Cena “you can’t see me” gesture, Reese pointed her trash talk towards Caitlin Clark, who had been praised all throughout the NCAA women’s tournament for her fiery competitiveness and trash talk.
“I was waiting,” Reese told ESPN. “Caitlin Clark is a hell of a player for sure. But I don’t take disrespect lightly. And she disrespected Alexis and my girls — South Carolina, they still my SEC girls, too. Y’all not gonna disrespect them either…I had a moment at the end of the game. I was in my bag. I was in the moment.”
During games between Iowa and South Carolina and Iowa and Louisville, Clark was also in her bag while on her way to setting the record for most points in NCAA women’s tournament history. At different points during those games Clark was seen doing the same John Cena hand gesture, or waving off a guard with the ball daring them to shoot, or telling an opposing player “you’re down 15, shut up.”
Angel Reese singled out in double standard
These actions were praised by many viewers and sports commentators on social media, saying Clark was a fierce competitor and noting that it added excitement and brought viewers to the women’s tournament.
Yet when it was Reese’s turn to join in, the tone of viewers was very different online.
“All year, I was critiqued for who I was. I don’t fit the narrative,” Reese said postgame. “I don’t fit the box that y’all want me to be in. I’m too hood. I’m too ghetto. Y’all told me that all year. But when other people do it, y’all don’t say nothing. So this is for the girls that look like me. For those that want to speak up for what they believe in. It’s unapologetically you. And that’s what I did it for tonight. It was bigger than me tonight. And Twitter is going to go into a rage every time. And I’m happy. I feel like I’ve helped grow women’s basketball this year…I’m looking forward to celebrating and then next season.”
In her postgame press conference, Clark praised the LSU team on their victory.
“All the credit in the world to LSU. They were tremendous. They deserve it. They had a tremendous season,” Clark said. “Kim Mulkey coached them so, so well. She’s one of the best basketball coaches of all time, and it shows. She only said really kind things to me in the handshake line, so I’m very grateful of that too.”
It seems the only people who have a problem with the competitiveness and trash talk between the women college athletes are grown men sitting at home who probably tuned in for the first time this tournament.
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