There's been plenty of opinions swirling about perceived disrespect from Angel Reese in the NCAA title game, but how about from the person on the other end of it?
It's all a big overreaction, Iowa star Caitlin Clark told ESPN on Tuesday.
“I don’t think Angel should be criticized at all no matter which way it goes," Clark told ESPN's Jeremy Schad. "She should never be criticized for what she did. I’m just one that competes, and she competed."
The criticism stemmed from Reese following Clark late in the game with the result decided, mirroring the Hawkeyes' sharpshooter's "you can't see me celebration" from early in the bracket, as well as pointing to her ring finger as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
"I think everybody knows there’s going to be a lot of trash talk in the entire tournament, it’s not just me and Angel," she continued. "LSU deserves it — they played so well. And like I said, I’m a big fan of her.”
A lot of criticism boiled down to "class," implying that Clark had it and Angel did it, though much of that criticism ignored Clark's similar celebration late in a win over Louisville earlier in the tournament. Reese also called back to Clark waving off a South Carolina player standing alone at the 3-point line during the Hawkeyes' upset victory.
Reese addressed the reaction after the Tigers' title game win:
"All year I was critiqued about who I was. The narrative, I don’t fit the narrative, I don’t fit 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," she said. "But when other people do it, y’all don’t say nothing. 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 up in what they believe in. It’s unapologetically you, and that’s what I did it for tonight. This was bigger than me tonight.”
Related
But that wasn't the lone bit of controversy following the game, with First Lady Jill Biden -- who was in the crowd for the game -- initially suggesting that runner-up Iowa should join LSU at the White House for the traditional champion's visit. It was not received well, and Clark told ESPN she'd love to visit the White House, but not like that. Biden has since walked back the idea.
“I don’t think runner-ups usually go to the White House. I think LSU should enjoy that moment for them and congratulations, obviously, they deserve to go there," Clark told ESPN. "Maybe I could go to the White House on different terms, though. But I think that’s for LSU, so that’s a pretty cool moment and they should enjoy every single second of being a champion. … I think that’s there’s to do.”
Related
