Basketball player Angel Reese’s competitive nature has led her team, the Louisiana State University Tigers, to their first national championship in the program’s history. But it has also caused a lot of chaos on social media.
Yesterday (April 2), as LSU cruised to a victory against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, Reese made a “You can’t see me” gesture toward Iowa player Caitlin Clark.
The hand movement was known to be used by former wrestler John Cena on WWE, but Reese’s use resulted in many Twitter individuals calling her “classless,” amongst other names.
Reese was quick to come to her own defense after the game. When she spoke with the media, Reese questioned why it was a problem when she made the hand movement, but not when others did so. One of the people she seemingly referred to was Clark, who’s Caucasian, and who also made the “Cena gesture” during the tournament.
Like Reese, many prominent members in the world of sports were just as puzzled as they defended her competitiveness and questioned if race played a part in people’s reactions. On Twitter, Ryan Clark tweeted, “If you praised Caitlin Clark as competitive, fiery, and passionate for doing the ‘You can’t see me’ celebration and are criticizing Angel Reese for the same, we already know!!”
During today’s (April 3) segment of “Undisputed,” Shannon Sharpe said, “It’s very clear: This is not about anything else but race.”
Meanwhile, former LSU player Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal kept it short and straightforward as he responded to comments made about Reese by podcaster Keith Olbermann, telling him to “Shut your dumb a** up [and] leave Angel Reese alone.”
And even WFAA sports anchor Mike Leslie told viewers that Clark “doesn’t need your protection” and Reese “doesn’t deserve your derision.”
Despite it all, Reese finished the game as the Most Outstanding Player in the tournament. She also broke the single-season NCAA double-double record, marking her 34th in the championship game.
Check out more of the sports world’s reactions to Reese’s backlash on Twitter below: