by Booker Jones

April 8, 2023

Respect: Caitlin Clark Says Angel Reese Doesn’t Deserve Any Of The Backlash She’s Receiving

Caitlin Clark has finally spoken on Angel Reese‘s taunting during the NCAA National Women’s Championship game, in which LSU snatched its first NCAA Women’s title after beating Iowa.

Reese, the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, as the game came to a close, waved her hand in front of her face, a gesture that Clark had made several times. It’s not clear what the gesture means in the basketball world, but in hip-hop spaces, that same gesture is a way of saying: “You can’t see me.” Many critics have accused Reese of showing bad sportsmanship for the gesture.

Keith Olbermann lashed out at Reese by tweeting: “What a f*cking idiot”

Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy also criticized Reese on Twitter, calling her a “classless piece of sh*t.” His account has since been suspended.

Clark doesn’t agree with any of the criticism thrown toward Reese. On Tuesday, the Iowa guard appeared on SportsCenter, and of course, she was asked about Reese.

“I don’t think Angel should be criticized at all,” said Clark on SportsCenter. “I’m just one that competes, and she competed. I think everybody knew there was going to be a little trash talk in the entire tournament. It’s not just me and Angel.”

She added, “We’re all competitive. We all show our emotions in a different way. You know, Angel is a tremendous, tremendous player. I have nothing but respect for her. I love her game – the way she rebounds the ball, scores the ball, is absolutely incredible. I’m a big fan of her and even the entire LSU team. They played an amazing game.”

While Clarke praised Reese’s game, Clark is also a force on the court. So much so that the Des Moines-raised hooper won this year’s National Player of the Year. However, her Hawkeyes lost in the championship game.

After the game, Jill Biden also faced criticism when she attempted to break tradition by inviting both LSU and Iowa, as opposed to only inviting the champions, to the White House. Reese took to her social media to respond to Biden’s suggestion by tweeting: “A JOKE.”

“That’s for LSU,” Clark said to SportsCenter. “They should enjoy every single second of being the champion. I think that’s theirs to do. I don’t think runner-ups usually go to the White House. LSU should enjoy that moment for them. And congratulations, obviously; they deserve to go there. Maybe I could go to the White House [someday] on different terms.”


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