This week, Fox Sports Analyst Emmanuel Acho was rightfully dragged online, not just by Black Twitter, but by several of his industry peers, for his comments on Angel Reese’s emotional response to questions asked during Monday night’s post-game press conference. He urged Reese to “take the L” and stated that she couldn’t “act like the big bad wolf, then cry like Courage the Cowardly Dog” on Tuesday’s episode of “Speak.” These comments came after the LSU athletes were asked some pretty tough questions, right after one of the most heartbreaking losses of their collegiate career, followed by what might have been the last game some of them play in their beloved purple and gold jersey.
According to Nielsen, LSU and Iowa attracted almost 10 million views last year for the 2023 Women’s NCAA tournament, up by 103% from the previous year, and outshining the men’s tournament by a landslide. They surpassed expectations again this year with their long-awaited rematch that landed a record-breaking 12.3 million views, the most EVER in college women’s basketball history. Also, according to recent reports, the Las Vegas Aces have become the first WNBA team in history to have a season ticket sellout for their upcoming season. However, women athletes across the board are still drastically underpaid, undervalued, and unfairly held to biased criticism. Monday night, we watched LSU’s Angel “Bayou Barbie” Reese and her teammates lose to the phenomenal Caitlin Clark and the squad of Iowa. It has to have been, hands down, one of the most watched rivalries in Women’s college basketball history, and as we all know, every legitimate rivalry comes with a healthy dose of competitiveness and confidence. Last year, Reese was proclaimed the antihero of women’s college basketball when her in-game antics catapulted her to THE hot topic of partisan sports analysts and male-centered podcasts. Angel Reese quickly made a name for herself as being one of the most dominating forces of her class. Unfortunately, like many other female athletes, their characteristics off the court often got more coverage than their actual contribution to the game. Equality is necessary, but not at the expense of respect.
It’s difficult for journalists on major platforms, such as Acho, to emphasize their “unbiased” opinions, where they claim to eliminate gender and race in order to give balanced feedback because the irony is, how can you eliminate gender and race, while also genuinely addressing the hateful responses that are intentionally rooted in race, gender, and sexuality?? When was the last time fake A.I Porn was created in an effort to damage the image, likeness, and respectability of Draymond Green? Meanwhile, that’s exactly what’s happened to Angel Reese. Iowa’s Caitlin Clark also often participated in the same taunting behavior on the court, but was received with grace and excitement for the sport. Just ask the Los Angeles Times who recently released an article riddled with racial undertones and microaggressions, referring to LSU’s team as “dirty debutants” while painting upcoming opponent, UCLA, as America’s sweethearts. The media itself plays a huge role in the way women’s sports are interpreted, as well as the way female athletes are covered and criticized. They have to be feminine enough, and ladylike enough, while also being strong, athletic, and holding themselves to the traditional standards of womanhood.
When LSU’s starting point guard Flau’Jae Johnson was asked if she could give some insight on the type of leader that Reese is, she couldn’t help but enthusiastically expound on Reese’s character both on and off the court, humanizing and amplifying the characteristics that the mainstream media often chooses to ignore.
“Man, let me tell you something. Everybody can have their opinion on Angel Reese, but y’all don’t know her. Y’all don’t know Angel Reese. I know Angel Reese. I know the real Angel Reese and the person I see every day is a strong person, is a caring, loving person. But the crown she wears is heavy. She’s the type of teammate that’s going to make you believe in yourself.” She then went on to say, “The media, y’all, how they like to twist and call it a villain and all that, y’all don’t know Angel. I’m just happy that I get to play with her. I get to be around her presence. Her energy is different. She just makes me a better player. She makes me a better player, and that’s what great players do.”
Johnson’s response was co-signed by teammate Hailey Van Lith, who along with UCONN’s Paige Buecker, has been very vocal about their support for equal treatment in women’s sports, specifically in regards to their African-American teammates. In 2021 Bueckers received an ESPY for “Female College Athlete of the Year” and used her speech to stand up for Black female athletes.
“With the light that I have now, as a white woman who leads a Black-led sport and is celebrated here, I want to show a light on Black women. They don’t get the media coverage that they deserve. They’ve given so much to this sport and the community and society as a whole and their value is undeniable. In the WNBA last season, the postseason awards, 80 percent of the winners were Black, but they got half the amount of coverage as the white athletes.”
The behavior of Black women is constantly overpoliced and often intentionally misinterpreted to fit the imaginary standards of traditional misogynists. And it’s not just in basketball. Serena Williams, arguably the greatest female athlete of this generation, has been gaslit from the tennis court to the delivery room, where being outspoken and standing up for herself literally saved her life. Even Beyonce, undeniably the greatest musician alive, has been ridiculed for the audacity in her artistry, which she highlighted in her most recent project “Cowboy Carter,” where she references the backlash she originally received from the country music industry.
But when Reese was asked what was going through her mind when listening to her teammate’s responses about her character, she was undeniably overwhelmed.
She responded emotionally, “I don’t really get to stand up for myself. I mean, I have great teammates. I have a great support system. I’ve got my hometown. I’ve got my family that stands up for me. I don’t really get to speak out on things because I just ignore them. I just try to stand strong. I’ve been through so much. I’ve seen so much. I’ve been attacked so many times, death threats, I’ve been sexualized, I’ve been threatened, I’ve been so many things, and I’ve stood strong every single time. I just try to stand strong for my teammates because I don’t want them to see me down and not be there for them. I just want to always know, I’m still a human. All this has happened since I won the National Championship, and I said the other day I haven’t been happy since then. And it sucks, but I still wouldn’t change. I wouldn’t change anything, and I would still sit here and say I’m unapologetically me. I’m going to always leave that mark and be who I am and stand on that. And hopefully, the little girls that look up to me, and hopefully I give them some type of inspiration that know hopefully it’s not this hard and all the things that come at you, but keep being who you are, keep waking up every day, keep being motivated, staying who you are, stand ten toes, don’t back down, and just be confident.”
On that night, we saw a vulnerable Angel Reese, as she still stood ten toes down in the spirit of being the most humanistic version of herself, surrounded by her sisters, while Flau’Jae wiped a tear from her cheek. This is the embodiment of Black Girl Magic. Because even when the world doesn’t see us, we see each other.
Reese has since entered the WNBA draft, along with peers such as Caitlyn Clark, Cameron Brink, and Kamilla Cordoso, all leading up to be what has been called one of the most exciting WNBA drafts in years. It’s been a long time coming from “No one is watching” to “Everyone is watching,” but as they say, numbers don’t lie. We can’t have conversations about women’s basketball without standing on the stories of Cheryl Miller and Pat Summit and Dawn Staley and Lisa Leslie and Rebecca Lobo and Cynthia Cooper and Sheryl Swoopes, etc. and the list goes on and on and on. So in the words of the ones who came before us, “Move over, because we got NEXT.”
