On Sunday, April 2, Louisiana State University defeated the University of Iowa to win the NCAA women’s collegiate basketball national championship — a feat that would go on to become one of the biggest women’s sports stories of the year. But all anyone can talk about is what happened in the last few seconds.
In those waning moments, LSU star power forward Angel Reese pointed to her ring finger and waved her own hand in front of her face at Caitlin Clark, the top player on Iowa’s team. For those familiar with basketball hand gestures, this was Reese’s way of telling Clark that her team won — that LSU would get that championship ring — and that Reese herself was undeniable. For those familiar specifically with Clark and women’s college basketball this season, the hand gesture is a callback to Clark’s own dismissal of her past opponents.
As with any good feud, the more backstory you know, the juicier it gets. As a supporter of women’s rights, this was also the rare moment you were able to simultaneously support women’s injustices.
But some didn’t see Reese’s action as deliciously scandalous, and her actions didn’t happen in a bubble. Her taunting sparked criticism of her from haters lack of “class” and how Reese, who is black, should have acted in the face of victory at hand. Her critics would have liked to see her win calmly and politely, without the theatrics. However, this wave of concerns about how female athletes should behave when they win didn’t matter nearly as much when Clark, who is white, was steamrolling, talking trash and taunting the competition. Curious!
The tournament was Caitlin Clark’s show until Angel Reese and LSU showed up
Historically, the women’s NCAA basketball tournament has been eclipsed by the men’s tournament in terms of coverage, enthusiasm, and notoriously funding and facilities. But this year’s March Madness chapter contained a perfect storm of storylines and events that gave the women’s tournament a spark: a men’s tournament riddled with excitement, five conference schools, an undefeated women’s team in the form of the University of South Carolina, a The Rising Team from Louisiana State University led by eccentric coach Kim Mulkey and superstared by Clark, a University of Iowa electrical warden.
Clark, a junior, averaged 27.8 points per game, 7.1 rebounds per game and 8.6 assists per game while shooting at a 47.3 percent clip in the 2022-2023 season. If you don’t follow basketball, these are extremely good numbers. The bigger the numbers in these categories, the better. Additionally, Clark did all of this while leading her team to a top 10 ranking and a 2-seed finish in the NCAA tournament – her performance and stats earned her AP Player of the Year honors ahead of the national championship.
Caitlin Clark holds up three fingers, which just so happens to be the ideal number of points she likes to score on every possession. C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
While she was stunning all year, Clark shone in the tournament – the biggest stage in women’s college basketball – and made history as the leading points-scorer, recording a triple-double and posting 40-point games from team to team. In the Final Four game against undefeated and reigning champion South Carolina, Clark’s 41 points and eight assists helped lead underdog Hawkeyes to victory.
At the same time, Clark’s self-confidence could border on cockiness. Against Louisville, a team known for being physically active and defending defenses, Clark fired the Cardinals for 40 points and gestured, “You can’t see me.” In the aforementioned game against South Carolina, she waved a player at the three-point line, signaling that they posed no threat. When she hits a “logo” three — say, nailing a basket from Michigan’s huge mid-court M — she knows it’s going into the game’s highlight reel.
This set the stage for Sunday’s national championship game: In the biggest game of the year on the biggest stage of the year, the top player in women’s college basketball — who knows she’s the top player in women’s college basketball — played 40 Minutes against her against LSU of what would be the perfect end to her fantastic year. Iowa had just beaten South Carolina, which was a better team than LSU on paper.
But while the transitive properties of wins and losses can give you a picture of how a game might turn out, what’s important is what’s happening on the pitch.
As the game unfolded, LSU played its best basketball of the year. Reese, LSU’s star, gobbled up rebounds left and right and converted missed shots into points. LSU’s bench also played brilliantly, hitting three after three. Coupled with some shoddy officials (an unfortunate constant in women’s collegiate basketball) and an egregious lack of defense, Clark and Iowa were blown out 102-85.
Angel Reese gives Caitlin Clark a taunt she should recognize. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
In the final seconds, Reese followed Clark around and pointed to her ring finger. Championship games, like weddings and senior years in high school, are punctuated by rings. Reese’s pointing was to indicate that she was given one of those rings and Clark didn’t have one. Reese also mimicked Clark’s “I can’t see me” gesture to Louisville, giving the Superstar guard a taste of her own taunt.
After a season of Clark’s goad, the firestorm response to Reese’s gestures eclipsed the game and LSU’s victory itself.
Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark and the Impossible Double Standard
Within moments of LSU’s victory, Reese’s taunts went viral — no different than Clark’s. However, they were received very differently. Instead of being seen as cocky or confident or funny, Reese’s actions were viewed by some vocal as bad sportsmanship. Keith Olbermann, a former ESPN SportsCenter host and MSNBC commentator, called Reese a “bloody idiot.” Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy echoed, calling Reese a “classless piece of shit.”
Olbermann and Portnoy are grown men of their own accord. Most of the people who take a negative stance on Reese’s actions are also grown men. You have appointed yourself to be the arbiter of this 20-year-old woman’s behavior.
in a (n attempt to plead her case against Reese, they point it out that Clark hadn’t actually mocked Reese during the game, and that Clark’s antics – which Reese copied – actually came from the aforementioned Louisville game. If Reese were playing for Louisville or one of the teams Clark directly mocked, her argument suggests that Reese would be okay with doing what she did.
When Caitlin Clark talks trash, she’s probably tough enough to take some, too. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
But the “if this situation were completely different, things would be different” argument kinda falls apart considering Reese’s critics were quiet when Clark made the taunt. When Clark gestured that an entire team of Louisville Cardinals couldn’t guard her, no one called her “classless piece of shit.” Actually, she was praised — ESPN ran an entire segment on Clark calling her “the queen of back slaps” with a crown emoji.
Olbermann and Portnoy’s reactions to Reese and the reactions on their reactions – Basketball Hall of Famers Shaquille O’Neal tweeted Olbermann to “shut up, leave Angel Reese alone” — reflecting a larger pattern of the impossible double standard black athletes are held to and how sports media continues to reinforce that standard.
This is not a new phenomenon. Reese is just the latest, frustrating example.
From Angel Reese to Serena Williams and Simone Biles to multiple entities in the NFL and NBA, black athletes not only needed to win on the court, but in ways that engaged audiences – but especially adult (white) men like Olbermann and Portnoy — determine seriously. They must not be overconfident or they will be seen as arrogant. They must not be too passionate or they will be considered angry. You can’t talk about your mental health without your character being questioned. However, when athletes like Clark or Larry Bird or Novak Djokovic or Tom Brady exhibit the same behavior, it’s a revered part of their legacy or a passionate dedication to the game.
Female athletes like Reese and Clark also struggle with an added, implicit layer of sexism. Some – grown men Above all – believe that there is no place for trash talk in women’s sports because women are seen as better, gentler and above the fight. Trash talking and vitriol are now considered integral parts of men’s sport and its most compelling rivalries. This streak of benevolent sexism undercuts contenders like Clark and Reese, who act with more dignity and harshness than is spoken about.
When asked about Reese’s taunt, Clark played it off. “I have no idea, I was just trying to get to the handshake line.” said Clark in a post-game interview, seemingly taking the loss in stride. “All the glory in the world to LSU… They deserve it. They had a great season. [Coach] Kim Mulkey… only said really nice things to me on the handshake line.
Speaking to reporters Sunday, Reese defended her actions.
“I don’t fit in the box you all want me in. I’m too hood, I’m too ghetto. You’ve been telling me that all year. But if other people do it, you don’t say anything.” said Reese, and explains that she may have been caught at that moment. “So this is for the girls who look like me who want to talk about what they believe in. It’s you with no apologies… It was bigger than me tonight.”
If Clark and Reese can handle this spat on their own then anyone watching and commenting should be able to follow their leads. No one directly involved says foul. Perhaps these two women can teach us that we need to better accept that sports — regardless of gender or race — are incredibly insignificant events. They are a place for ridicule and gossip alongside the higher expressions of our character. Clark, Reese, Iowa and LSU have no problem with that. Maybe we—especially grown men—could be better at just letting them play.
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