Ariana Baio
Apr 03, 2023
content.jwplatform.com
Don’t dish out what you can’t take.
Louisiana State University’s Angel Reese decided to give University of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark a taste of her own medicine by making taunting gestures at her during the final game in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.
At several points during the game, Reese could be seen gesturing to her ring finger at Clark and doing John Cena’s “you can’t see me” taunt.
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Both taunts were meant to lessen Clark’s confidence and claim that LSU was going to win.
And though LSU did win against Iowa 102-85, online people felt that Reese’s taunts were the signs of bad sportsmanship. On Twitter, people criticised Reese for waving her hand in Clark’s direction.
\u201cSuper ugly sportsmanship by Angel Reese towards Caitlin Clark considering how terrible the refs were on Iowa\u2019s gameplay.. hated to see it\u201d— toast (@toast) 1680472420
\u201cWhat a classless move by Angel Reese. Doing WAY too much to taunt Clark.\u201d— Danny Kanell (@Danny Kanell) 1680472443
\u201cThis is classless. Angel Reese is only 20, so she\u2019s still young, but taunting Caitlin Clark like this shows a pure lack of class.\nWin with class, lose with class, play with class.\nClark\u2019s mom and dad can be proud that her daughter ignored the taunting. They raised her right.\u201d— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@Jose de Jesus Ortiz) 1680472845
\u201cFor all the dummies out there who don't understand why Angel Reese is #classless it's because she taunted Clark with 10 seconds left in a game that was long over. Talking shit in the moment is 1 thing. Doing it when she did was #classless and that's why it's trending.\u201d— Dave Portnoy (@Dave Portnoy) 1680473699
However, Clark had done similar taunts herself in the games leading up to the final game.
After defeating Louisville last week and setting the record for the first 40-point triple-double in any NCAA tournament game, Clark made the “you can’t see me” motion.
But nobody seemed to find Clark’s motion offensive at the time, even Cena responded by congratulating the 21-year-old on a historic performance.
\u201cEven if they could see you\u2026they couldn\u2019t guard you! \n\nCongrats on the historic performance @CaitlinClark22 and to @IowaWBB on advancing to the Final Four! @MarchMadnessWBB #WFinalFour\u201d— John Cena (@John Cena) 1680026176
\u201cIf it wasn\u2019t \u201cclassless\u201d when Caitlin Clark did it, don\u2019t call it classless when Angel Reese does it. Let the women compete, it\u2019s sports!!\u201d— Emmanuel Acho (@Emmanuel Acho) 1680473558
\u201c\u201cAngel Reese has no class. Caitlin Clark was raised right.\u201d\u201d— KillaChem (@KillaChem) 1680474042
Reese responded to criticism in a postgame news conference.
“All year, I was critiqued about who I was,” Reese said. “I don’t fit in a box that y’all want me to be in. I’m too hood. I’m too ghetto. But when other people do it, y’all say nothing.”
“So this was for the girls that look like me, that’s going to speak up on what they believe in. It’s unapologetically you,” Reese added.
The 20-year-old also took to her social media where she tweeted a photo of herself doing the “you can’t see me” motion to Clark. In another tweet she wrote, “And no I’M NOT KEEPING IT CUTE."
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