Source: Ben Solomon / Getty
Angel Reese sent a strong message to Iowa State after she helped lead the LSU Tigers to an NCAA Championship victory on April 2.
As Iowa star Caitlin Clark walked off the court, Reese, 20, waved her hand across her face. Then, she pointed to her ring finger, celebrating the big win.
What was the wave you ask?
It was a play on a taunt made popular by WWE pro-wrestler John Cena that’s usually accompanied by the phrase “You can’t see me.”
RELATED CONTENT: Shaquille O’Neal’s Daughter Amirah Commits To Play Basketball For Houston-Based HBCU
Social media users claimed Angel Reese had “no class” following victory wave
After the game, social media lit up with mixed reactions about the basketball star’s victory wave. Some people on Twitter claimed that the 6-foot-3 athlete had “no class” for boasting about the team’s win in Clark’s face. A few users thought that the gesture displayed a poor example of “sportsmanship.” Some even called it “tasteless.” As a result, the viral moment swiftly soared across the internet.
Angel Reese addresses criticism
During a post game interview with ESPN, Reese addressed the hand wave, telling Elle Duncan that she wasn’t going to allow Clark to disrespect her teammate Alexis Morris or South Carolina, which Iowa beat in Friday’s Final Four. Clark deployed the same hand wave after she helped lead the team to victory, according to Yahoo Sports.
In fact, during a recent game with Louisville, the 21-year-old point guard threw up the John Cena Wave after she hit her sixth 3-point throw of the game.
Cena, 45, even took to Twitter to congratulate Clark.
“I was waiting,” Reese told ESPN after the championship. “Caitlin Clark is a hell of a player for sure. But I don’t take disrespect lightly. And she disrespected Alexis and my girls — South Carolina, they still my SEC girls, too. Y’all not gonna disrespect them either… I had a moment at the end of the game. I was in my bag. I was in the moment.”
As backlash about the gesture began to pour across social media, Reese defended herself again, and she wasn’t backing down either.
“All year, I was critiqued about who I was. The narrative — I don’t fit the narrative,” Reese told reporters during a post game conference. “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,” she continued.
“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.”
A few social media users called out haters for criticizing Reese, when Caitlin Clark did the same thing and was praised. Some argued that Reese was only getting slammed with backlash because of the color of her skin.
As backlash continued to pour in across social media well into the night, Reese appeared to be unbothered by the criticism.
“IDC BOUT NUN,” she wrote after the game.
In a follow-up post, she added, “and no I’M NOT KEEPING IT CUTE.”
On Sunday, LSU won their first ever women’s NCAA champion, beating Iowa 102 – 85. Reese helped push LSU to the mountaintop, delivering 15 points and 10 rebounds throughout the game, according to ESPN.
RELATED CONTENT: Women To Know: Sha’Carri Richardson’s Record-Breaking Success Is Still On Our Minds
