On Sunday, LSU won their first national championship. The LSU Tigers beat the Iowa Hawkeyes in the NCAA women’s championship. It was a huge moment for LSU and for women’s basketball and women’s sports in general. Throughout March Madness, the women’s games had been getting more attention, more heat, more commentary, bigger ratings and more social media engagement. Then, during the final, every white man decided to show their ass and expose how deeply they hate Black women, so it’s not even a basketball story anymore.
Iowa’s Caitlin Clark – a young white woman – had done John Cena’s “you can’t see me” hand wave in front of her face during several games. Men and women have mimicked Cena’s gesture for years – it’s a simple but effective way to trash talk without saying a word. During the final, LSU’s Angel Reese – a young Black woman – did the same gesture TO Caitlin Clark. When Clark did it, she was widely applauded and cheered. When Reese did it to Clark, suddenly she was “classless” and “ghetto.” Not only that, when it was clear that LSU were just seconds away from collecting their championship, Reese pointed to her finger (as in, I’m about to get the championship ring).
Doesn't matter the gender, the sport, the background – you're seconds away from a championship and you do something like this and overshadow all the good. Mindless, classless, and what kind of coach does this team have?
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) April 2, 2023
Yeah. I truly can’t believe this is still the misogynoir double-standard people are employing in the year of our lord Beyonce 2023. Like, are these white folks not f–king tired? Do they not hear themselves? Reese took the criticism in stride – and I hate that she had to – telling journalists post-game that:
“I had a moment at the end of the game. I was in my bag. I was in the moment….All year, I was critiqued about who I was. The narrative — I don’t fit the narrative. I don’t fit into 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, that’s gonna speak on for what they believe in. It’s unapologetically you. And that’s what I did it for tonight. This was bigger than me tonight. Twitter is gonna go on a rage every time. And I’m happy. I feel like I’ve helped grow women’s basketball this year.”
She absolutely did help grow women’s basketball. She was absolutely a trash-talking (or trash-gesturing) icon. It’s a SPORT. It’s a GAME. Women can have fun and gesture and trash-talk just like the guys. The racist and sexist commentary on this was bonkers.
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
If you didn’t say it was classless when Caitlin Clark did it to her opponents then don’t say it about Angel Reese either. https://t.co/5S8P6mvhhx
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) 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
Part of the reason I liked watching Caitlin play was because she was talking shit. Anybody that ignored that just to play victim right now is corny. Turnabout is fair play.
— Rod (@rodimusprime) April 2, 2023
"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."
Angel Reese is unapologetically her 👏 @Reese10Angel pic.twitter.com/9cuCWwayhA
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) April 2, 2023
Photo courtesy of Instagram.
Typical.
I had no idea what that gesture was, would never have noticed it, but now that it is spelled out for me I think she’s kinda bada$$, especially for calling them straight out for the double standard. If you got game, flaunt it!
Really? That gesture is older than me (44) and you basically gesture it to someone to signal “that’s dumb/stupid”. Well at least where I come from.
People calling Angel classless because of the gesture or the timing of the gesture… just no. If it is ok for Caitlyn Clark to use it DURING the game, it is ok for Angel Reese to use it after the game. The ring gesture actually takes the cake and is really funny. If someone would trash talk and taunt me during a game, you better expect me flashing my ring finger in your face while I happy dance around you.
Yes, really. I’m 42 and I don’t watch or give a crap about sports. I would have guessed she had a “no-see-‘em” bug flying around her head that wouldn’t go away.
Exactly. Completely appropriate in context. But she’s Black so…
maybe it’s regional? I’m just about as old as you and I don’t know this gesture either.
Keep policing Black women and Black women’s bodies. White men “coming to the rescue” of their damsels in distress—the white women who started it and get off on it. Rinse, repeat.
Every. F*ckin’. Time. Exhausting.
This is the first time since Kobe Bryant died that I have really noticed he is missing. He would have had none of this, and the white men would have listened to him.
So much truth in your words. The double standard is utterly disgusting.
@ThatsNotOkay THANK YOU!
Olbermann, Portnoy, would never speak about that way about a white girl, no matter what she did.
Exactly!!! They would never speak like that about any white person! The insults went overboard and I am happy the black community and the rational people jumped in! Go Angel… I am a fan now!
I was so offended and surprised by Olbermann like I usually like his takes… but this misogynoir take is upsetting like Caitlin Clark trash talked during the all tournament (as she should) and so did Reese but they are clearly not treated equally…ugh,I hate it here
Not the first time Olbermann has made sexist, racist comments. The world forgot because he is liberal and likes to rescue dogs, but he’s been saying stuff like this about black women for years.
Men on the left can be misogynistic and racist too. We don’t expect it, but it’s definitely true. And it stings more than when it comes from the right since we expect it from right wingers. Olbermann is disgusting for calling a 20 year old Black woman “an idiot”.
Congrats 👏 to Angel Reese and LSU! The rings will be nice, but I love the hats.
Olberman can be very problematic. He has been called out for his racism and his misogyny before. To his credit, he is a longstanding advocate for shelter animals and has worked with the NYCCACC for years, getting animals out and into foster and forever homes.
Portnoy is just a complete asshole.
I really don’t like Kim Mulkey and the officiating was awful, but those young women deserved that win.
Olbermann has been making sexist comments for DECADES. He got called out just two weeks ago for a WBC complaint about players who play for a team “based on where their grandmothers got laid.”
He’s always been trash.
💯 agree. Some people are saying it’s not the same, because the Iowa’s player gesture lasted a few seconds 🤦🏽♀️. I am also glad that people are speaking up for Angel.
Can we please stop using being good to dogs as a marker for anything other than being good to dogs? It’s a really low bar for humanity.
Animals are pretty easy to advocate for, as they don’t talk back. It’s a lot harder to be an ally to other people.
Agreed, Clotog.
White American men & women have aways treated their dogs better than Black people. Read the slave narratives. So KO loving shelter animals is just the way it has always been.
I just read that Keith Olberman has since apologized. He wrote: “I apologize for being uninformed last night about the back story on this. I don’t follow hoops, college or pro, men or women. I had no idea about Clark. Both were wrong.”
Oh my God, I can’t even with these people who speak so vociferously about an issue they know nothing about.
I’m disappointed in Olbermann. I’ve seen he’s apologized, but still. Too late. The white girl was continually doing it and being an ass but nobody said a thing until the black girl did it back. Not. Cool.
Badass is the word! As for the opinions of these sad white men… utterly predictable, and utterly revolting. That’s all I’ve got.
I haven’t kept up with this, this year, but she resembles my gorgeous goddaughter, who gets as hood as she wants to, when she wants to, & is succeeding, regardless of what the old, white patriarchy has to say.
Here’s the thing. She followed Clark on the court to keep making the gesture and to ensure Clark saw it. That’s the part I felt was a step too far.
Having said that – the racism and misogyny has been out in full force and it’s been disgusting. Clark has taken heat for being “unladylike” and “nothing to look at” and all the women from Iowa were told to “wear some makeup”. It’s so, so disappointing that we’re still here in 2023.
Here’s the thing. ]
Clark taunted the other team throughout the entire game. Trashed talked more after a three-pointer. Reese didn’t say a damn thing to Clark, but y’all will make up any excuse.
@Dani Exactly
@Dani: I don’t normally follow college basketball (men’s or women’s) but I’ve read a few articles on this story and Clark’s taunts to the other teams, like South Caroline I think, were always reported as Clark “celebrating” while Angel Reese’s same gestures when her team was winning were being reported as “taunts” and “classless.” Some may say “It’s just sports” but such things can affect Reese’s chances for being drafted into the WNBA when she should have no trouble after ushering her team to a championship. Double standards like this, aside from the harassment factor, always have a financial element to it.
Is it even trash talking if the other person doesn’t see it? What would be the point if she did it and Clark was clear on the other end of the court?
I thought trash talking in sports was par for the course. Since when is it a huge deal for ANY athlete to do a little trash talking? As long as it’s not bigoted trash talk, or straight up psychological abuse a la Michael Jordan, my understanding is that a little bit of trash talk helps get the players “riled up” and wanting to win that much more. It’s tradition, almost. Isn’t it?
These white men just can’t stand seeing black women empowered. That is what it boils down to
wow…what would entitled white men do with all their free time if they weren’t angry with everything a minority woman does? good. make them more angry.
The Bayou Barbie called game and that’s that. All LSU heard about was the white girl from Iowa and how they couldn’t beat her. They did it and in impressive fashion. Angel literally broke the record for the most double doubles in a season, wona natty and won MOP. She’s got every reason to brag on herself.
Yeah but Caitlin broke many records this year and had a 40 point double triple (which, as Magic Johnson tweeted even Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Johnson himself haven’t accomplished).
Full transparency- I’m from Iowa originally and lots of folks from Iowa were backing Caitlin and the team. Not everyone from Iowa is white. Also there was a lot of suspicious officiating where the LSU coach was on the floor (in the way of the ref) and never got a tech but Caitlin got a tech for nothing.
As for the hand in the face thing, Angel followed her around and was pretty overt about it. Right as they were losing the game. But its sports and smack talk is part of the sport. I agree that it wouldn’t be as big of a deal if it was a white man but there are a lot of people expecting Iowa to win so that moment got a lot of play.
I’m not sure what’s worse: your racist double standard for when trash talking g is ok (only if a white player is doing it) or the assumption that the only way LSU beat the great white hope is because the refs fixed the game.
@Haylie…. Ummm, ok I think you need to step back a bit.
I did not say that I believed the only reason LSU won was because of the refs. I mentioned that it has inflamed a lot of the fans and was a part of the discourse about this game. I think the Iowa fans aren’t just reacting to the gesture and it’s impacting their perceptions. In my actual opinion there were also some interesting calls by the refs but LSU won because they scored more points and played better all around.
And I highlighted that yes, she’s getting more heat for the gesture because of racism and misogyny. 100%. I think Angel took the gesture directly from what Caitlin did in another game and amplified it. I also said trash talk is part of the game. My intention was to imply that lots of people in my feed are in an uproar and yes bias plays a part in that. But so does disappointment that their team lost. That sucks but that’s sports.
“Classless” has to be one of the loudest dogwhistles there are. We all know what these white men really wanted to say.
This is exactly what I came to say. I got sucked into reading about this last night on Twitter when I should have gone to bed. It was vile.
It reminded me of the Meghan is classless vs “Kate is so classy” (for doing the exact same things) commentary from similar crowds. Just say what you want to say with your whole chest. Or don’t, because we actually hear you either way 😒
Or the unbelievable, “Melania and Ivanka are bringing class back to the White House”……never going to forget that one.
Well, we all know that flashing your biscuit and your a$$ to people while “on the job” is the international sign of “class”, don’t we?
“Classy” vs “classless” is absolutely racist here. I don’t follow sports in general and I can totally understand what the commentators are saying. The other thing they are implying is that good women (beyond being white) don’t trash talk—why is this okay when men do it then? This take is also misogynistic. I’m glad LSU won.
Thank you for this comment @Maddy. You nailed it!
It’s sports. It’s fun when players enjoy their win and have fun with their success. What is up with the obsession with humility in sports? It’s just a game. Always feels racist…
I was a nationally ranked athlete and a coach for many, many years. I’ve never seen men come undone as quickly as when female athletes show up and play as hard and as competetively as the men. Somehow women have to be humble in the win and men are so intimated by strength, toughness, pride, competitiveness. My own coaching rule was never to taunt, never to engage. Celebrate with your teammates, be tough with your teammates, howl to the moon with your teammates. It’s not about class, it’s about sportsmanship and loving your own strength and skill and hard work. But I’m old school and acknowledge that there are lots of different ways to be great and proud of it and celebrate it. The sexism and especially racism is just spilling forth from these men.
Of course there are certain actions that are unsportsmanlike but none of them apply here. This is pure racism.
What a bunch of racist assholes. Go Angel❤️
This past weekend was an entire mess. It Really brought out the racists and misogynists. Dawn Staley (SC coach) had to speak on it at her post game press conference.
Clark has been sh1t talking all tournament. And not just with the ‘You can’t see me’. She got a taste of her own medicine last night. I’m sure she didn’t even care bc that’s what they do!!!! Losing the championship is what she cares about the most.
The hype surrounding Clark going into this weekend was unreal. People that don’t normally follow women’s basketball was tuning bc of her. She’s a great player in a ok team. She had over half Iowa points against SC!!! The fans went into last night thinking Iowa was going to pull out a win. Not realizing that LSU is a better TEAM. All their ire had to go somewhere and it went to Angel. They were disgusting. I’m so glad Angel didn’t allow them to take her shine!!!
Yup Caitlin Clark has been very cocky and backed up it up,and talked trash and that’s ok but now ppl want to explain us the rules of taunting…SMH…that Angele stalked her, that the refs were horrible … yada yada.. I see through those people and know what it is.It’s the same when Brady is mad and broking tablets, and having fights with his coaches and his O line and he is deemed fiery and passionate… but let it be Lamar or a black quarterback: the double standard,every time
I don’t like it when athletes do any of that shit. In any sport. It’s childish. I hate it when soccer players act like babies, I hate it when these idiot boxers do it before a match. I know it’s somehow part of the sports universe but … yeah. I just don’t enjoy it. But if you are fine with one person doing it, don’t come out with “class” when a black woman does it. FFS. I hate the word “class” or “classy” anyway. I’m under no obligation to be anything of the sort. It’s an undefined concept that is used to put women in their place and you can never achieve the level of class they expect you to because the goalpost is moved all the time. “Classless” apparently being the worst offense. You can’t be loud, opinionated, ambitious, smart, dirty-funny, or any of that if you want to be “classy” or “elegant”. Not interested.
Very good point. You don’t see it applied to men or men expected to be classy.
I totally agree. I think trash-talking shouldn’t be tolerated. It’s embarrassing. You’re either better because you put in the work, or you’re not. However, let’s apply that criticism across the board, or keep your mouth shut.
I hate trash talking too. Let your skills do all the talking. WNBA players do not make much money so I could see how both ladies and want to stick out so that teams know they will draw audiences and they could demand a higher salary.
@Fabiola, I hadn’t thought about that. I guess sports are just entertainment when it’s all boiled down.
I’m with you on this. I don’t like the performative stuff either. My most intense and prolonged exposure to sports was when my son played Little League Baseball (which is HUGE where I live). The coaches all taught the kids to never do that, to win and lose with grace, etc. I realize it’s kind of part of the experience in some sports and many fans actually like it or don’t mind it, but I don’t care for it.
That said, you can’t have a double standard about it or vent your spleen on Twitter when a black woman does it if you haven’t shown the same outrage or disdain over men or white women doing it. No, not even if the trash-talking was done in different ways or at different points in the competition. There are no rules about it and you don’t get to make them up in hindsight.
These people scolding Angel Reese think they’re talking about “class” but they’re really just showing their own asses.
+1
One of my nephews played baseball for a while. It wasn’t the children who were horrible, it was the parents.
@equality I could believe that. My son just joined little league, and I found myself agreeing with the umps more often than I agreed with the parents on my son’s team. I’m keeping my mouth shut though. They’ve been watching this five years longer than me, so maybe I just don’t know what I’m looking at.
All the racist BS flying trying to ruin the joy in the final four’s most excellent games is a fkn shame. We should all be celebrating those super talented powerful players. Those games were a screaming, jumping up and down, shouting joy to watch.
Hey, racist, old, white guys, we don’t need you for this! All the young women ACTUALLY involved understand the game of trash talk. They dish it, they take it, and none of them asked you to come to their rescue and weigh in on how it makes YOU feel.
I’m wondering if you misinterpreted or I wasn’t clear. I was wishing the racist old white guys and women would shut it and give all the players their due respect. None of the players were out of line.
@Southern Fried- oops, nope, I was totally agreeing with you. (I was just yelling into the void over your shoulder piling on!)
Sorry but this story shows a lack of knowledge about sports. CC does trash talk and Angel certainly can do. But context matters in sports. CC did this move after a shot to her bench Angel did it after the game was basically over following CC around. It’s a total lack of sportsmanship esp combined with his open lack of respect after the game. Maybe there’s some race element sure but mostly, it’s lack of sportmanship. Take your win and respect your opponent. Plus if you knew basketball you would know this was some of the worst officiating we’ve ever seen with two of Iowa’s starters fouling out (bad calls both ways but more effect on Iowa) and CC called for the most controversial technical possibly ever. This is about the SEC disrespecting the Big 10 and girls being jealous of the attention CC got.
Holy crap was the officiating terrible. On both sides. Clark’s technical should never have happened and someone needed to remind the LSU Coach that she cannot be literally on the court.
Absolutely awful officiating – what a horrible way to showcase women’s sports. Premier players did not deserve that….Angel Reese and that little guard taken out by fouls early, then Iowa’s two gals, Cinzano and Warnock in foul trouble early – the Clark tech and so many other stupid calls. They refs made it all about them. No flow was allowed in this game. I bet those refs will have some questions to answer today.
The only difference here is people who can’t handle their great white hope losing so they have to create a false narrative about why the same gesture Clark has been using all season is “classless and ghetto” when Reese does it. “But it’s different because blah blah blah!”
All that “bad officiating” talk is just sour grapes to try and make the bigotry.
@Haylie, sure is. Now we are seeing a lot of explaining about basketball. I wonder why? 🤔
The officiating WAS bad, straight up. I don’t think that is a controversial statement. I also don’t think it mattered in the game because it was bad both ways. Those women deserve far better so I do think the officiating should be discussed so the winners can celebrate as they should without people talking about the officiating. But the officiating was definitely not an excuse to bash one side or excuse the racists views spilling forth.
Officiating didn’t make Iowa lose by nearly 20 points, GTFO.
@Bobbie is there some rule about when trash talking is “acceptable”? Because I see men do it before, during and after the game. All this whining by the Iowa fans and the white male sportscasters is what’s “unsportsmanlike”, take your L and go home.
Yes, the rule is, when white people do it, it’s ok. When Black people do it, even in response to trash talk by whites, it’s ‘classless’ and ‘idiotic’.
Sorry but this is totally about race. How cow. There’s no maybe about it.
I know the sport. So do lot of other people defending Angel Reese, including NBA players. NBA players who happen to be black and experienced the same double standard and made up the rules to explain why it’s bad when the black athlete does it but good and ‘when the white one does it.
People need to take the loss and stop whitesplaining sportsmanship to everyone.
@BOBBIEDEGROOT Your comment is laughable. The horrible officiating went both ways. Two of LSU’s best players also got in foul trouble as well and had to sit on the bench in the first half early on because of terrible officiating. It’s what allowed Carson her moment to go off. She came off the bench explosive. Iowa had no answer for her. There were calls that would have benefitted LSU that weren’t called, but no one harps on those because LSU won.
But the fact that you assume the LSU girls would be jealous of the attention CC got is laughable. Angel Reese has more NIL endorsements than any man or woman in college basketball in the country right now, and that was before they won. Fla’Jae Johnson has almost a million followers on IG and has a huge following herself as a rapper/baller. Trust and believe LSU women were getting plenty of attention. Before the media “discovered” Caitlin Clark. The fact that you spoke of them being “jealous” betrays your true motive. CC was disrespectful and trash talking other players all tournament. The gesture she made to the South Carolina guard where she dismissed her was disrespectful and she also trash talked Louisville. Where’s your outrage there? Oh that’s right. You want to pick and choose the parameters of the outrage. All’s fair in basketball. Period. Don’t dish it if you can’t take it. The better team won.
The funny thing is CC is not even trippin about any of it. She knows trash talk is a part of the game. She will probably use it as motivation. LSU acknowledged what an amazing talent she is, they just know they prevailed because the basketball is a team sport . People wanted to watch a CC coronation, and are upset that LSU was the better team. Everything else is just racism and sour grapes.
One other point- I actually don’t think CC cared. She didn’t even react. The team was just upset about loosing. I hope women’s basketball keeps getting this kind of attention but I’m worried with how terribly that game was officiated people will tune out again.
IU fan here (Indiana University), so we have to put up with Caitlin Clark all damn year in the Big Ten….and she is good, don’t get me wrong, she’s actually amazing, but she’s an a-hole on the court. I watch an absolute crap ton of women’s college basketball and I love the South Carolina team, just love them, and you really don’t see much talking, just playing a great game and I love their coach. Her entire press conference, was spot on. Read the whole thing. Lots of good points made.
As for all the chatter on the court, I see the same with my hometown team, IU, not much talking, they just play the game. I just don’t see a need for it, show your skills through your athletic ability, not your mouth. Angel Reese is a talker, she so much as said so in the NYT article that was published on March 2nd. I just don’t care for any of it from anyone.
But I can tell you that most of us Big Ten fans are not feeling bad for Caitlin Clark today – no one was beating LSU yesterday, they were in another world, trash talk or not, they were on fire!
Speak for yourself and have some midwest pride! I may not like other Big Ten school when we play them, but I root for them when its another conference.
I don’t cheer for them all year, why would I cheer for them any other time 🙂
Kidding, sort of….I respect them all, because Big Ten basketball is awesome right now, but I’m probably not going to want them to win.
Angel Reese was flipping off Iowa fans walking into arena. She spent the last several seconds of the game taunting her Clark Tell me anyone watched the whole game.
Again, if Reese did this during the game when they were playing and fighting back and forth, absolutely zero issue. It’s when she did it and the manner she did it. She waited until the very end when the game about to be over after her teammates carried the game for her. Followed her around knowing there was zero that Clark could do or say back. It’s phony coward bullshit.
Whatever you say.
Oh Lord, here we go. Cry me a river. You would have hype up Clarke if it was the other way around. I stand with Angel’s decision.
Not seeing how someone doing something at a point in the game where she thought her team was winning is different from another doing something at a point in the game that her team was. Were those Iowa fans being still and quiet or were they making comments that inspired her to flip them off? Let’s have the whole story.
Christian Laettner, one of the all time great college players, flipped off LSU fans before a game back in the day. Oddly, not one commentator saw anything wrong with it. Same folks had shit to say about Shaq every time he breathed (and goodness knows what they’d have said had he done to Duke fans what Laettner did).
Laettner was a trash talking jerk (he stepped on the chest of a downed player FFS), and lots of other players and fans hated him. But do you know how the media treated him? An SI article on him was titled “Devilishly Different.” Yeah, it was a play on Duke’s mascot, but still, that’s so…cute. Same article called him an, “angelic bruiser” and played up his middle class white bread background, and the whole aggressive play/trash talking was just the white kid being competitive, don’t cha know. Another quote from the Raleigh News and Observer: “In talking to [him], you keep noticing the eyes. So blue, so expressive, so often a gauge to his inner feelings…. When he’s happy, carefree, the eyes sparkle, gush with warmth.” Huh.
What does Laettner have to do with this? The double standard for behavior when it comes to white athletes compared to black athletes is real, and it was there 40 years ago and is here today.
So please GTFO with the “time she did and the manner she did it.” No one seems to notice the time and manner when white athletes do it. Ever.
I don’t care about this at all but I will say that shithead got a ton of heat for his behavior especially when he landed in MN. His behavior was classless and an embarrassment to the state.
My take for all athletes and all sports is the football quote “Act like you’ve been there before”. It applies to scoring and winning or losing the game.
Christian Laettner was called out but what he did was on a whole different level and he deserved every minute. There is a huge double-standard but I don’t think he’s the right comparison.
There were very specific things Laettner did that were not called out during his college career, and he was often applauded by the media as being competitive when those behaviors were mentioned. Add to that, his behavior had to reach a certain point before the sports media even mentioned that it might be negative.
He may have been called out more as a pro (I don’t follow pro basketball), but that wasn’t always the case when he was at Duke. Just read that SI piece I mentioned where it’s all explained as “enthusiasm.” The analogy isn’t one to one, no, but imagine if Laettner was black and ask yourself if he would have been treated the same?
Just look at the immediate aftermath of the 1992 east regional, Duke v Kentucky. Was it all about what Laettner did to Aminu Timberlake? Or was it about “the shot”? When the controversial call was mentioned, did all the white male commentators get their undies in a twist because Laettner wasn’t ejected? Did they call him “classless”? It’s not just about his behavior getting called out, it’s HOW it was called out, and there’s a marked difference in more than a few things when it came to him.
Yawn.
Oh no! Women playing sports & trash talking. We can’t have this. They should be hugging & smiling, all sunshine and lollipops. /s
BTW, Keith Olbermann used to date Laura Ingraham, he needs to stfu.
I’m glad Angel Reese enjoyed her win, despite the racist
white men trying to ruin it.
You should change the name of the article. There are plenty of entitled white women (and some who are blackfishing) doing the same thing right here on Celebitchy
I mean,we are so dumb that white people need to explain to us:
– that the taunting was not the same
– the refs did the job of making LSU win like they didn’t win of a margin of 20 points
– and Angele Reese was flipping off Iowa ppl for no reason,huh?
Seriously I am disappointed but not surprised.. Aaliyah Boston had to protect her teammates and didn’t want the press to see her teammates or her to cry cause last year all the press did was making viral an unflattering photo of her crying… imagine that a 21 year old woman was afraid that ppl see her emotional after a loss,SMH and her mom heard ppl saying that she was a thug in the stands, and Dawn Staley has to defend her team and say that they were not thugs:what are those two teams have in common(LSU and South Carolina): a majority of black players…
Maybe you should point out that whining about a loss and blaming it on the refs is not classy.
Simone you are so correct.
Ugh, what absolute bullshit. Woman athletes can trash talk too! And if a white one can, so can a black one or any other participant . The hypocrisy and pearl-clutching is nauseating.
My son went to LSU. Last night he was out at a bar watching the game, and posted a big congrats to them and Angel Reese on their victory on his Instagram. I know he’s rolling his eyes at this double standard right now. That kind of thing drives him bonkers. I’m surprised he hasn’t already texted me about it this morning!
I haven’t watched a second of the tourney. My Dawgs were eliminated in the 2 or 3rd round, but I could sense the change in stories when South Carolina lost. It was as if Caitlin Clark became the great white hope that would finally return Women’s BB to its rightful owners. So…seeing Angel come out, ball out and show out Caitlin made me smile. Black girl magic! If Caitlin got upset about her trash talking being thrown back in her face, she didn’t say so. She’s a competitor. She knows her day was coming. She just hoped she’d be on the championship side of it before it happened. She wasn’t and white men like Olbermann, Pourtnoy et al showed their asses and true colors. Again.
Right. Caitlin isn’t the one getting upset about it here. She doesn’t need these guys coming to her “defense” because an opponent flaunted a win or whatever. She’s tough enough to handle it. If she has a problem with it, let her say so. These other people should sit down.
Thank you AnneL.
Actually, I find it interesting that there have been no stories about Caitlin Clark telling the press that she did the same thing during the games when she was winning. If Clark made such a statement, I sure missed it. I understand being disappointed about a loss but, to me, this is reminiscent of all the times when white women happily accept the “protection” of white men, at the expense of black women.
It’s fine if people don’t like the taunting and hand gestures or whatever. But when they don’t bring that same energy for men (especially white men) or white women, then its obviously stemming from racism. We watched the game yesterday and it seemed to start off pretty evenly and then LSU just ran away with it. Iowa was able to come back to ….within 7 at one point, I think? but it was definitely LSU’s game. Angel Reese is allowed to celebrate that.
Social media got messy on this one but one of my favourite Twitter comments was “Larry bird come get your daughter”. (Bird was a noted trash talker back in the day)
Reese and LSU had a right to celebrate and the reaction to what she did was insanely overblown.
Black people especially women are not allowed to show any emotion except gratitude. The double standards are glaring.
The double standards and misogynoir made me furious yesterday. The only thing that made me feel better was Angel’s fierce defense of herself … and women like Jemele Hill telling Keith Olbermann to STFU.
And Dawn Staley is just the best — an all-around champion in every way. I was so moved by her comments about her team. (Not a fan of LSU Coach Kim Mulkey, but the LSU players were on fire and I was thrilled for them.)
I am really not a fan of the LSU coach and was actively rooting against them but I can’s stand this double standard !! Angele Reese deserved better than to be called out an idiot or any name .. and there are always ppl trying to explain that we don’t know the rules:it was the same with Meghan Markle and it’s the same now.. implicit bias really play a big role: call out taunting for everybody cause there are no rules to it
I never comment but as an Iowan and Iowa fan and CC fan, so many on here are tearing her down. Why? Aren’t we supposed to be bringing women up. If any of you actually watched the game CC didn’t even acknowledge Angel. Caitlin doesn’t care. She knows how to take the trash talk as well as give it. She was even asked in the post game press conference about and said she didn’t even notice she wanted to get to her teammates. The media is making a mountain out of a mole hole hill. Neither of these women did anything wrong but some of you have decided to basically label Caitlin as a punk. She has a chip on her shoulder for sure but you just took down the no 1 undefeated team in the country of course she’s going to have swagger. Angel Reese would too in that situation. None of you have clearly ever watched Angel Reese play before she’s a trash talker too. Makes gestures, she was doing in the VaTech game. Way too much hypocrisy here in the comments. FYI Caitlin donates her NIL money. And does publicity for the local food bank for free to get more people to donate. MAybe some of you should donate $22 to the Coralville food bank. And now is a wonderful time as a torndao went through Coralville Friday evening right before the women played South Caroline. Destroying an apartment complex of low income housing.
Bravo, Karen:
“We should be uplifting all women. Now I’ll explain why Angel is a bad sport and Caitlyn is a saint! She donates money to a food bank! Angel eats food that others could be eating. Shame on her!!!”
You should’ve thought twice before posting bigoted whitesplaining nonsense.
Read what I wrote… I never said Angel was a bad sport. I said there is an awful lot of hatred towards for Caitlin for no reason. They both trash talked I never once said anything about bad sport. Maybe you need to learn to read.
Stacy – many, MANY of the girls on ALL the teams do tons of community service work, not just Caitlyn Clark. So stop it… That is just unfair.
Y’all are reading waaay too much into what I’m writing. There are a lot of self righteous people one here. There are tons are comments on here painting Caitlin Clark like she’s some sort of Disney Villain. And I also love the assumption that I’m white. Too many are commenting about people that my guess is didn’t know existed until this article and all of a sudden everyone knows everything about Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. Both are extremely talented women basketball players but lets not focus on that lets focus on made up bs by the media to pit the black player against the white player. Neither of which doesn’t nothing for those two women or womens sports in general. But go ahead and tell me I’m unfair…
Did you read any of the comments here? Who’s coming for this Caitlin girl? People are rightfully angry at all the commentators and Twitter knights in shining armor who thought trashing a black girl for exhibiting the same behavior as a whitel girl was a grand idea.
Nobody is focusing on “made up bs by the media”, people are – again – upset at the media’s response to this. That’s a legitimate discussion, why derail it with food bank comments?
Seriously I don’t know what Stacy sees in these comments that made her say that we are saying bad or unfair things to Caitlin: we just stated that Angel did what Caitlin did but only one woman is criticized and asked media ,and America to see the double standards and to be fair.
Oh Stacy
The problem is not one person is blaming Caitlin on this site, many have even said that she is not bothered by Angel trash talk.
Now you took it upon yourself to see something that wasn’t there and make Caitlin the victim that she is not with a whole dissertation about how great Caitlin is. You should really sit back and look at why you did that because your Microaggression is alive and well in your comment.
Two things (or more!) can be true:
In context – yes, including both their trash talking – it was poor sportsmanship. The timing matters.
A lot of the talking head reaction around it is overblown and not proportionate (and yes, some of it comes from an ugly place with an obvious racial overlay and that sucks).
But I think some of the firing back against the Reese criticism that simply drags Clark down too only feeds into an overarching anti-woman narrative, and that’s not exactly a good show, either.
Sounds like everyone should be able to agree the officiating sucked a lot, and all the women deserved better to showcase their actual skills.
But who is dragging down Caitlin? We are just saying : Caitlin trash talked like Angel.
And yet, some treat black women differently when they do it.
We are just calling out the double standards but you are the one talking about an anti-women rhetoric and that’s just white feminism: silencing POC by telling us that we are attacking women,SMH
You’re exactly the same as the white men who felt the need to don their cape to defend Caitlin.
Have several seats.
Let women speak freely for f*cks sake. Trash talking or not. I watched the game, am stoked for Angel. Also not like anyone here needs me to say it, but being real, ok, ANGEL IS CLASSY. I cannot stand the narrative that bc she is a WOC and gestured something beyond heart hands 🫶 that she’s classless. I cannot w those dog whistles. A comment after a game and she’s attacked. She’s actually a collegiate athlete and very hard worker who’s work work worked so dang hard for this win. Let her be.
Caitlin too. If she has a problem with anything, she’ll let us know.
The comments from the dudes, terrible.
ESPN produced a segment a couple of days ago called “Caitlin Clark: Queen of Clap Backs”. They praised her for her trash-talk. She was celebrated and uplifted. Anyone talking about Angel Reese somehow being wrong for doing the exact same thing is a racist, full stop.
Exactly. People are doing all kinds of logical gymnastics to claim the rush to condemn Angel Reese for the same behavior is anything but racist. Now that people don’t like that there’s pushback and that she stood up for herself, some will probably hold a grudge against her.
Seriously? Wow. So they literally singled Clark out for praise for this sort of thing, and now they’re tearing Reese down for it. Unbelievable. Or I guess I should say totally believable.
I think no one reacted when the white girl did it because no one watched those games. I don’t like taunting no matter who does it. Angel is getting called out for poor sportsmanship. They need to show the games in which it was done to her, just to be fair though.
This is why female sports have low ratings. You can’t interact with white women. Clark has been trying to play men’s basketball. Trying to generate interest. The minute she succeeds and an opposing player matches her energy a bunch of men come to the white woman’s defense. No one is going to want to play against Clark. You have to be nice to her or nationally known millioniares will bash you.
Women’s college basketball had higher TV ratings than NBA.
This article had me at “in the year of our lord Beyonce 2023.” Love it!!!!
I don’t love showboating in any sport (although it happens all the time, and WAY more often with men than women)
What she did is EXACTLY THE SAME THING that Caitlin Clark did. How do you call one out and not the other? Racists, once again you’re showing your asses.
Angel standing up for herself and girls “who look like me” shows awareness and leadership. Brava! Wish her continued success in sports, and in life.
Either both are classless or both are not classless.
Personally I don’t like to see this type of taunting by men or women, regardless of color.
Also believe it’s laughable that the talking heads could excuse one’ players actions and not the other’s.
She is stunning! Looks AND talent! 🤩
Only mildly related, because he’s mentioned in the post, but John Cena is not only the most requested “I wish to meet” person for the Make a Wish Foundation, he also broke the Guinness Book of World Records for the most wishes granted. I’m involved with Make a Wish so I greatly appreciate his philanthropy.
https://www.npr.org/2022/09/27/1125167941/john-cena-make-a-wish-guiness-world-record
She’s a beauty and what a double-standard! Trash talking is TOTALLY acceptable in men’s teams and apparently if a white girl does it. Now make that a black girl and she’s out of bounds. Reminds me when one of the Williams sisters hair beads fell on the court. A white colleague said it was “disgusting” and “disrespectful” to the game. When Chris Evert’s diamond bracelet dropped on the court, it was “adorable” and we got the name “tennis bracelet” from her cute antic. Just no.
I know I shouldn’t be shocked but I was still shocked how fast old white men started attacking Reese and the racist hate came fast.
The behaviour towards Ms Reese is unacceptable, should not be tolerated but will continue without push-back.
It is a state of mind, what they fail to understand is in labeling and talking down to a fully formed human being is dehumanizing to the individuals who engage in such ignorance.
Those individuals are automatically seen as less than…..
Not worth one’s time….
Angel has one responsibility, to be the best version of herself….
Irregardless……
Just Chiming In, Exactly! You said it succinctly and perfectly.
Omg now Jill Biden wants to invite Iowa to the White House. This is ridiculous! Caitlin is a good player but now we’re inviting the losing team to the White House.
White women whitewomaning.
I was shocked by that too. Bad move by Dr. Biden. I think it shows the generational divide here too. Older folks play by old, out-dated rules and stereotypes. Not all but many and it’s why you see some liberals repeating the classless crap. It was clear to me that something was wrong when WaPo had nothing to say about Reese leading up to the game but a front page article about CC. Then LSU beat the pants off Iowa and now the narrative is about bad officiating and classless taunting. Good grief. The racism and sexism here is overwhelming. Let LSU celebrate and let the consequences of trash talking play out naturally. Just like you do for the men.
This isn’t cotillion, it’s the f-ing arena. I have never seen anything more asinine in my life. As a white woman who has played sports my whole life, it always pissed me off that I was held to a different “etiquette” standard than men. I grew up in a predominantly white community, so I did not see many perspectives other than my own. Black women are clearly held to a ridiculously high standard that is complete f-ing horsesh-t. The mental gymnastics that people are doing to make one player’s gesture competitive and cool, and the other’s somehow taunting and classless is wildly infuriating.
Peach,thank you for speaking up cause you are the type of white ally we need: you grew up in a all white world but can clearly see the double standards.
There were plenty of men of color dogging on her too! I am a big basketball fan and follow the news. But yes, lots of misogyny all around.
I have a feeling Clark wasn’t exactly polite on the court, who knew what she could have been saying/doing that whole game and the whole season! And those womens games aren’t dainty either, those girls are ROUGH
Now I know who Angel reminded me of: the gorgeous beauty Josephine Baker from the 1920’s.