Backlash against LSU Women's Basketball star Angel Reese shows double-standards in sports

[Celerity]

Some labeled 20-year-old Reese “classless” and even called her an “idiot” for pulling John Cena's "you can't see me" hand gesture at Iowa opponent Caitlin Clark, who had done the same thing in a prior game.

https://www.reckon.news/news/2023/04/backlash-against-lsu-womens-basketball-star-angel-reese-shows-double-standards-in-sports.html



The NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship game ended in a historic victory of Louisiana State University on Sunday, with the Lady Tigers scoring the most points in women’s finals history. It also put the national spotlight on stars like LSU forward Angel Reese, who faced criticism for her conduct during the game.

Some labeled Reese “classless” and even called her an “idiot.” The comments were made after Reese, a Black woman, made wrestler John Cena’s “you can’t see me” hand gesture and pointed at her ring finger, presumably where her championship ring might go, in Iowa point guard Caitlin Clark’s direction.



Clark, a white woman, used the exact same Cena-inspired gesture earlier this season but didn’t experience similar backlash for her actions. Some of the comments against Reese were made by Jose de Jesus Ortiz, editor-in-chief of OurEsquina, an online news outlet focused on elevating the stories of Latinos in sports, Keith Olbermann, a former ESPN host and Barstool Sports president Dave Portnoy.



Social media users were quick to push back against the pair for their remarks, calling their comments hypocritical, misogynistic and reflective of a double standard in sports. “Shut your dumb ass up leave angel reese alone,” Shaquille O’Neal, former LSU alum and NBA star, tweeted in reaction to Olbermann’s statement. On Monday, Reese retweeted the basketball legend, writing, “yeah my uncle shaq don’t play bout me. period.”

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

The former ESPN host later issued an apology on Twitter.

Link to tweet

snip

[WhiskeyGrinder]

1. Black women face this double standard in all sorts of contexts besides sports, but sports is one of

the settings where it's easiest to spot, as it was in this case. Also Olbermann's post was hardly an apology.

[Celerity]

2. yes, he pretty much both siderism'd it

he is getting hammered on social media

Link to tweet

[obamanut2012]

7. Par for the course for KO

I do not get the full-throated love for him on here. He has done sketchy stuff like this before, especially with women. And, come on. Look at what he did to Hillary.

(not directed at you!)

[Bev54]

23. He is a hot head and like most hot heads he speaks before he thinks.

[gratuitous]

3. Trash talking in sports?

Why that's almost as stop-the-presses important as whether to put ketchup on a hot dog or pineapple on a pizza!

[Celerity]

20. Some people need a fainting couch, lol (and others are just being racist, so not so funny)

Last edited Wed Apr 5, 2023, 11:43 PM - Edit history (1)

I wonder what the pineapple pizza whingers would think of this hot mess (Swedish kebab pizza)





or The Vulcan pizza (Swedish as well, of course, they put cray shite on pizza here and it usually is NOT a win)

[questionseverything]

35. College teams have more rules about behavior, sportsmanship than pro

For me personally it makes college games better to watch

[ProfessorGAC]

4. Poor Take

Mostly by people who didn't actually watch the games.

[Maraya1969]

5. Glad Keith apologized. He's generally a very nice guy.

[Jilly_in_VA]

6. What's really annoying

is that anyone criticizing Angel Reese at all is immediately accused of racism. My observation, based on numerous incidents and not just this one (I watch a LOT of SEC basketball and read a lot) is that she needs to grow up and stop shooting off her mouth/keyboard. She acts like an overgrown brat. I would say the same thing about her if she were white. (I think her coach does too, BTW, in a lot of cases, particularly the sideline histrionics.)

Meanwhile, this is what Caitlin had to say, which I thought was pretty mature:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/apr/04/caitlin-clark-angel-reese-college-basketball-ncaa-gesture-trash-talk

[obamanut2012]

8. Whoosh

[questionseverything]

9. A couple hours ago reece said, she will not accept an invitation from the White House

That they will visit barack instead

This girl is going to single handily destroy the winning coalition democrats have tried to build

[WhiskeyGrinder]

13. LMAO omg

[jimfields33]

19. Oh my gosh. I hope President Obama tells them to go to the White House and visit me another time.

That is so disrespectful to President Biden.

[questionseverything]

24. Very disrespectful to both the current and former president

After all it was obama that picked biden all those years ago to be his second

Hopefully the coach steps in

[Peacetrain]

54. THIS!!!

[pinkstarburst]

55. Completely disrespectful

And no way should they get a meeting with the Obamas. I'm sure the Obamas are too classy to do something underhanded like that to the Bidens.

[jcgoldie]

25. wow

overreact much?

[questionseverything]

28. ? I am not the one saying the Bidens aren't worthy of visiting

[jcgoldie]

29. "This girl is going to single handily destroy the winning coalition democrats have tried to build"

Completely absurd hyperbole.

[questionseverything]

32. So you think it's good that she is trashing the Bidens?

You think it will help?

[jcgoldie]

36. She's a college basketball player who doesn't want to visit the white house

Its not that serious. Certainly not likely to unravel the space time continuum or cause African Americans to vote against their interests for the racist GOP.

[Jilly_in_VA]

43. Fine

Let her stay home. And she can also STFU about it. Her coach should tell her she's giving the team a bad name by dissing the First lady, but her coach is an entitled brat herself and a MAGAt, so she won't.

[questionseverything]

44. You seem to be forgetting how close Hillary's lose was

[Oneironaut]

11. Sports teams are full of entitled brats.

I’m not sure why this girl is being singled out (other than for being a black girl who acted out).

[Sogo]

14. Thanks for posting this article. It's the best one I've read so far and

shows, once again, what a remarkable person Caitlin Clark is....

[BannonsLiver]

40. I was put off by her comments about Jill Biden today.

I think Jill’s idea to have them both come was kind of cheesy but jeez, relax, no need to take it so personally.

[pinkstarburst]

56. I was too.

I cannot stand Angel Reese. She is a complete brat. Jill Biden's idea wasn't well thought out, but I can understand that she was probably caught up in the excitement of the historic game (everyone was caught up in it) and didn't think it through. She walked it back. Some people are acting like they'd rather have 45 back for another term...

[pinkstarburst]

53. She's a complete brat

I don't care what kind of a basketball player she is. Every time she opens her mouth, she proves she has zero class, and that has nothing to do with skin color.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/05/sport/angel-reese-white-house-jill-biden-intl-spt/index.html

Now Angel Reese is saying she and her team won't go to the White House to meet with the Bidens, but she's running her mouth all over Twitter saying she wants an invitation to the Obamas to celebrate with them instead. Of course the Obamas are not going to step into that ridiculous drama. Jill Biden made a mistake in suggesting both teams should come to the White House but I can understand how she, like the rest of the nation, was caught up in how exciting the final games were and wanted to celebrate women's sports. She walked it back. That Angel Reese is continuing to be a brat shows how low class she is.

Caitlin Clark has been nothing but gracious.

"Meanwhile, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark said Tuesday that Iowa shouldn’t be invited to White House.

I don’t think-runner ups usually go to the White House. I think LSU should enjoy that moment for them and congratulations, obviously, they deserve to go there. Maybe I could go to the White House on different terms though,” Clark said. “That’s for LSU. That’s a pretty cool moment and they should enjoy every single second of being a champion.”

[Jilly_in_VA]

57. Agreed

After Angel and Ashley Owusu left Maryland, Coach Brenda Frese said, without naming any names, "There was too much ME instead of WE in the locker room last year." I wonder what players she might have been talking about, given the off-court behavior of both of them this year...

[Oneironaut]

10. Lol people do this shit all the time in sports. A black woman does it, and suddenly,

hell has broken loose. Seems fair.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

16. Exactly this.

[Jilly_in_VA]

33. Oh, she's not the only one

Just the most high profile, recent one. I can name you some others on her own sport even, but you probably don't watch women's basketball.

[Sogo]

12. This story has been spun way off the rails.

The truth is, there is no parity in the use of that gesture by the two women, and it has NOTHING to do with either's race.

Caitlin Clark made that gesture once towards her opponents' end of the floor during a previous game. Reece PURSUED Clark after Reece's team HAD WON THE GAME to get in Clark's face with her repeated and prolonged gestures. I watched it happen in real time....Bad sportsmanship! It wasn't enough for Reece that she had won the game???? Apparently not; she had to taunt Clark. Again, BAD sportsmanship; and further, LSU couldn't even be bothered to line up for a handshake after the game. Once again, BAD sportsmanship! Their coach in her clown suit should teach her team better....

Having said all that, which is my opinion, I would point out that Caitlin Clark is a much better person than I am in what she said yesterday when asked about the incident:

Link to tweet

[WhiskeyGrinder]

17. Was it bad sportsmanship for Clark to wave off Raven Johnson in the semifinal?

[Sogo]

22. You mean, right before she dribbled past her? LOL!

Context is everything....

I didn't even mind it when Reece was making her ring finger gesture DURING the game. But after you win the game, the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, BTW, let that sh!t go. Winning should be enough!!

As Clark said, there's going to be trash talk during the game.

What I'm objecting to is that AFTER THE GAME HAD BEEN WON BY LSU, Reece PURSUED Clark not to trash talk, but to taunt. Big difference in my mind, and that rises to the level of bad sportsmanship....

[WhiskeyGrinder]

27. No, when Johnson had the ball outside the three point line and Clark actively disdained to

guard her, looking away from her and waving off any threat of a shot.

[questionseverything]

31. Johnson could of drained a three to fix it but she passed

[WhiskeyGrinder]

34. Her three-pointer stats are not a threat. That's partly why the gesture was so cold.

[questionseverything]

38. So it would of been stupid to go out to guard her

Why is that on Clark?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

39. Lol

[questionseverything]

41. Another thing, how does a player get to play college level basketball

If they can’t drain a three?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

42. She hits them a quarter of the time, which isn't great at that position.

[Renew Deal]

47. Did you know that Shaq is in the NBA Hall of Fame and only made one three point shot?

[questionseverything]

51. So I would not go out to guard him at the 3 point line either

You know your example is apples and oranges

[Renew Deal]

64. Who asked this question: "how does a player get to play college basketball if they can't drain a 3?"

I'm saying that you can get all the way to the Hall of Fame without draining 3's.

[questionseverything]

65. If you're 7-1 and over 300 lbs, 🍎 & orange 🍊

[Renew Deal]

66. It's OK to admit you were exagerating

or wrong. Whichever makes more sense.

[Sogo]

37. Still, context....

That was during the game, and players in many sports do things to distract or throw off their opponents. The best revenge would have been for Johnson to have taken and made a shot. And if you read my post again, you'll see that I said I didn't even mind Reece making her ring finger gesture DURING the game....

But, if Clark had PURSUED Johnson AFTER the game to "rub it in," that would have been BAD Sportsmanship, and I would have been very disappointed and upset with her, same as with Reece, who had just WON the FREAKING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. What more is there to rub it in about???? It just made her look small and petty.

[stopdiggin]

30. I'm going with this

Don't really care whether you're black, white or rainbow hued. It was a classless act (on a very, very public stage) full stop. I don't like athletes being jerks - and I'm not against anyone calling them out for their behavior. If Clark deserved to be called out also - so be it. But the push to normalize and rationalize - the idea that this is all 'just part of the game' - is frankly just so much crap. It isn't. It's still classless - and those that practice it (and those that condone it) - all contribute toward the degradation of a thing they all claim to love and respect.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

15. Keith Olbermann got it wrong.

How entirely not unusual.

[Cosmocat]

18. Most of the mens teams

spend the entire game doing this kind of stuff ...

Not my thing at all, but its 2023.

[jcgoldie]

21. That is completely incorrect

What both players did was explicitly against NCAA rules. Players are regularly assessed technical fouls in both mens and womens games for taunting. Anyone who actually watches college basketball knows this. The problem here is not that either action is justifiable, it is rather the double standard in the reaction of fans and media. What both players did was a foul by NCAA rules and is called more often than not in games. Reese's action came as the final seconds ticked off and the outcome was not in doubt so officials didn't bother to make the call. But there is no reason she should have been vilified for her actions while Clark's were ignored.

[questionseverything]

26. Reese did it repeatedly while jumping in front of clark

[Renew Deal]

46. You are correct and I've seen technical fouls called for less.

The one thing that people can question is why Reese followed Clark around at the end of the game. It seems like an odd choice.

[Cosmocat]

67. There is a reason Clark is defending Reese

I actually watch NCAA basketball and ... this happens all game long most games.

This is why Clark is defending Reese ...

[jcgoldie]

68. No it does not

Players receive technical fouls for taunting. It is a hard rule which was a point of emphasis this year.

[questionseverything]

59. Not in college basketball they don't

The championship men’s game was very sportsmanlike and professional

[Renew Deal]

45. The refs should have dealt with all of these sportsmanship situations.

Allowing it in one game created a bad precedent for other games.

There is one notable difference between these two cases. Reese followed Clark around the court at the end of the game. It seems like a weird thing to do when you win a championship on this level.

As usual, the biggest part of the problem isn't the people directly involved. It's everyone outside of the situation. Clark never said anything publicly (EDIT) critical about this.

[Sogo]

48. Actually, she did:

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/apr/04/caitlin-clark-angel-reese-college-basketball-ncaa-gesture-trash-talk

[Renew Deal]

49. Sorry, I mean anything critical

or negative.

[Mosby]

50. This shit from Reese's supporters

Is damaging the party. Her supporters are claiming that our first lady is a racist.

Biden didn't have LSU going to the final 4 because he's racist.

Angel called our first lady "a joke" and now is trying to drag the Obamas into it.

Tell you one thing, I won't be watching women's basketball again.

Meanwhile, she's trying to monetize her newfound fame:

Link to tweet

You can buy her merchandise!

https://theangelreese.com/?fbclid=PAAaZj6aWHU6OE-ZSUJZwnJpFEzCFR2AXZi7863hixC5uXERPicbOzrRY_VXo

[fishwax]

52. I mean, the party will survive of course, but Jill Biden erred in saying that Iowa should be invited

to the White House along with LSU.

[Jilly_in_VA]

58. Your opinion

And you know what they say about those. Of course, you're entitled to it.

[fishwax]

60. aw, gee thanks and back at ya

[Sogo]

61. Iowa coach's statement about the WH invitation:

"I gratefully acknowledge the First Lady's sentiments, but a day at the White House should belong solely to the champion, LSU and Coach Mulkey," Bluder tweeted. "We would welcome the First Lady and President to come to Iowa's 'House' – Carver Hawkeye Arena — any time!" ~Lisa Bluder, Iowa Women's Basketball Coach

[NotVeryImportant]

69. Yes, and...?

FLOTUS really stepped in it w/this one...big time.

Do you honestly see LSU being invited had Iowa won outright?

[Tomconroy]

62. Inviting herself to the Obama's. What a clown.

[roamer65]

63. Yawn. Trivial, pathetic humans.

CO2e is near 500ppm, folks.

The planet is DYING.