The Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark controversy has taken a whole new shape in the last few days. What started as a cold celebration during the LSU vs Iowa NCAA Championship game is now a political statement. While the earlier controversy involved Angel Reese drawing flak for her ‘You can’t see me’ celebration, now even Jill Biden is involved in it.
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The First Lady, in her statement, invited both Iowa and LSU to the White House. This is clearly unprecedented. Usually, only the champions are invited to the White House. So, naturally, Iowa’s addition to the interview wasn’t well received. Angel Reese was especially vocal about it.
She publicly refused Jill’s invite after which the First Lady’s office rescinded their invite to Iowa. Skip Bayless, in his latest appearance on Undisputed, alleged racial undertones to Biden’s claims. The FS1 analyst supported Reese in her public outrage.
Skip Bayless claims Jill Biden’s invite had ‘implied racism’
While addressing Jill Biden’s invite and Angel’s response, Skip Bayless was openly critical of the first lady. Bayless accused the President’s wife of blatant but naive racism.
Per Bayless, Jill was trying to assuage the hurt caused by the Iowa loss. He believed Mrs. Biden was consoling Caitlin Clark and her ‘white’ Iowa team with her gesture.
Bayless: “In my view, my gut feeling is that, what our first lady said on Monday came across as this unspoken between-the-lines implied racism. It smacked off ‘Ah, poor Caitlin had to endure that shameful taunting by Angel Reese.’ ‘So, let’s bring poor Caitlin’s white Iowa team to the White House and celebrate them too. It smacked of that. It came across to me as this unintentional, unwitting, sort of naive white racism.”
Did Angel Reese cross a line with her celebration?
In all fairness, what Angel Reese did after her win isn’t a first or a rarity. It’s often seen in sports, especially in high-stakes basketball. After all, playing with such intensity is bound to stir up emotions.
Many fans alleged Reese for ‘her dirty celebration and disrespect to Caitlin. But Caitlin never criticized it. She accepted it as it was. Her loss and Angel’s win. The LSU champ clearly had bragging rights after the championship game and she exercised her rights.
So, to say Angel Reese was out of line is an exaggeration. She was letting her emotions out. While fans and the basketball world should have championed her for triumphing over exceptional Iowa, Reese has been dragged into a controversy far too big, far too unjust.
