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LSU won its first national championship on Sunday. In the NCAA women's championship, the LSU Tigers defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes. It was a significant moment for LSU, women's basketball, and women's sports overall. The women's basketball games received more attention, heat, commentary and social media engagement throughout March Madness. Then, the final saw every white man show his arse and reveal how much they hate Black women.
Iowa's Caitlin Clegg, a young white woman, had performed John Cena’s "you cannot see me" hand gesture in front of her face during several matches. Women and men have been mimicking Cena's gesture over the years. It's an effective, simple way to trash talk while not saying a word. Angel Reese, a young Black woman from LSU, made the same gesture to Caitlin Clark during the final. Clark was cheered and applauded when she did it. Clark was suddenly "classless" when Reese did it.
It doesn't matter what gender, sport, or background, you are seconds away from winning a championship if you do something similar and make all the bad things worse. What kind of coach is this team?
-- Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) April 2, 2023
Yeah. It's amazing to me that this misogynoir double standard is still being used in the year of Beyonce 2023. Are these white people not tired? Are they not able to hear themselves? Reese took criticism in stride – and I hate that it was necessary – telling journalists post-game:
"I had a moment after the game ended. I was in my bag. I was in the moment All year, I was criticised about who I was. The narrative -- I don’t fit into the narrative. I don't fit in the box you want me to be. "I'm too hood." I'm too ghetto. Y'all have told me that for the past year. However, when others do it, y’all don’t say anything. This is for girls who look like me. They'll speak for what they believe. It's completely you. That's why I did it tonight. This was much bigger than I thought it would be tonight. Twitter will be a rage each and every time. I'm so happy. "I feel like I have helped grow women's basketball in this year."
[From Yahoo]
She did a lot to help women's basketball grow. She was a trash-talking or trash-gesturing icon. It's a sport. It's a GAME. Women can have as much fun as the men and still be able to make trash-talk and gesture. This was a ridiculous comment, both racist and sexist.
It wasn't "classless," when Caitlin Clark did the same thing, but it's not classless when Angel Reese does the same thing. Let the women compete! It's sport! pic.twitter.com/lJpS1NId68
-- Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) April 2, 2023
Angel Reese is not classless if you don't agree with Caitlin Clark's statement that it was. https://t.co/5S8P6mvhhx
-- Robert Griffin III (@RGIII), April 2, 2023
This is a lack of class. Angel Reese, only 20, is still young. However, taunting Caitlin with such a crude joke shows her lack of class. Play with class. Win with class. Lose with class. Clark's parents can be proud of Clark for not being taunted. They raised her right. pic.twitter.com/HQyVFuyJIw
-- Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) April 2, 2023
Caitlin was talking shit, which is why I enjoyed watching her play. Anyone who ignores that in order to play victim is just plain stupid. Fair play is turning around.
-- Rod (@rodimusprime) April 2, 2023
"I'm too hood, I'm too ghetto. All year, y'all have told me that. However, when it happens to others, you don't want to say anything. This is for girls who look like me.
Angel Reese is unapologetically her
@Reese10Angel pic.twitter.com/9cuCWwayhA
-- The Sporting News (@sportingnews), April 2, 2023
Photo courtesy Instagram