LSU’s Angel Reese taunts Iowa’s Caitlin Clark.(Syndication: USA TODAY)
LSU basketball star Angel Reese took heat after taunting Caitlin Clark with her own “You Can’t See Me” celebration. Twitter hit back in her defense.
Caitlin Clark was the runaway star of the women’s NCAA Tournament and March Madness in general. But her triumphant run ended on Sunday when the LSU Tigers stopped the Iowa Hawkeyes in their tracks to claim the championship, 102-85.
As the game wound down, Angel Reese of LSU taunted Clark with her signature “You Can’t See Me” gesture while also pointing to her ring finger to indicate where the title was going.
Some in the basketball world didn’t like that, calling Reese “classless” for celebrating in that way.
What a classless move by Angel Reese. Doing WAY too much to taunt Clark.
— Danny Kanell (@dannykanell) April 2, 2023
This is classless. Angel Reese is only 20, so she’s still young, but taunting Caitlin Clark like this shows a pure lack of class.
Win with class, lose with class, play with class.
Clark’s mom and dad can be proud that her daughter ignored the taunting. They raised her right. pic.twitter.com/HQyVFuyJIw
— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) April 2, 2023
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) April 2, 2023
With “classless” trending on Twitter after the moment, a wave of pushback emerged. Clark taunted her previous opponents with the very same gesture without a hint of controversy. In fact, she was widely congratulated for it.
Why was Reese crossing a line for doing the same?
Twitter defends Angel Reese from “classless” criticism over Caitlin Clark taunt
Hold on now !!!! It was cute when Caitlin Clark did it. Y’all didn’t have any issues with it at all. So don’t be all outraged and talking about class and sportsmanship when Angel Reese does the same thing. We’re not doing double standards here #lsuvsiowa pic.twitter.com/8OgLwfxcqs
— Etan Thomas (@etanthomas36) April 2, 2023
Trash talk has no place in basketball. It’s why Larry Bird never forged any good rivalries and why nobody thought it was funny when Michael Jordan whispered “YOU BITCH” to him on a hot mic
— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) April 2, 2023
If it wasn’t “classless” when Caitlin Clark did it, don’t call it classless when Angel Reese does it. Let the women compete, it’s sports!! pic.twitter.com/lJpS1NId68
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) April 2, 2023
Y’all are going to let Angel Reese talk her noise in peace! She just won the natty and y’all want to talk about taunting.
So many double standards exist with women in sports and the select outrage is annoying. pic.twitter.com/VfbWaAQhNu
— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) April 2, 2023
If you celebrated Clark for doing this but not Angel Reese you gotta take a long, long look in the mirror. https://t.co/7CqY8KKXfu
— Meg Linehan (@itsmeglinehan) April 2, 2023
People hating on Angel Reese or Caitlin Clark. Stop.
Unapologetically confident young women should be celebrated NOT hated.
Get used to it.
— Holly Rowe (@sportsiren) April 2, 2023
Here’s what Reese had to say about the gesture:
Angel Reese talks about the “You Can’t See Me” gesture she gave Caitlin Clark.
“I was WAITING…” pic.twitter.com/if51kO5m1B
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 2, 2023
Reese admitted she had been waiting to give Clark a taste of her own medicine after seeing her do it towards South Carolina players.
Trash talk is a part of sports. But if you’re going to dish it out, you better be willing to stand in and take it as well. Clark isn’t the one raising the fuss about this whole thing. It’s people on the outside who want to dictate what is and isn’t acceptable based on arbitrary standards.
Reese just won the national title while putting up 15 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Let celebrate her accomplishment. And let Clark have her fun next season when she next drops 40 on someone.
This content was originally published here.
