Angel Reese is now seemingly taking a stand as she calls out the glaring double standard in the coverage between athletes Ja Morant and Quinn Ewers.
In a Monday night game, Texas Longhorns star Quinn Ewers mimicked a gesture on the field that resembled the one Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant recently displayed. Morant made the gesture while dunking in his team’s match against the Pelicans last month.
Angel Reese Continues To React To The Double Standard In Sports
While both athletes made the same gesture, the commentary given by Barstool Sports was quite different. Many people — including Reese — didn’t hold back with their reactions.
On Tuesday (January 2), the 21-year-old took to X, re-sharing a post criticizing the media outlet for its sports coverage.
Reese shared a user-generated graphic of two screenshots from Barstool Sports’ page. The screenshots noted the difference in how both athletes were being talked about for their hand gestures.
The publication’s commentary on Morant’s taunting gesture read, “Ja spraying imaginary bullets into section 113 after the slam.”
lol i’ve seen this before…. https://t.co/7XZZBdQipp
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) January 2, 2024
However, their tweet concerning Ewers — a Caucasian football quarterback — read, “Quinn Ewers is having fun.”
Last year, Reese found herself in a similar situation when she received heavy criticism for taunting Caitlin Clark with her “You can’t see me” gesture during the NCAA final against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Many had interpreted the gesture as a display of unsportsmanlike conduct, leading to widespread criticism of Reese’s behavior.
Given her own experience, Reese shared her thoughts on the matter with her followers.
“Lol I’ve seen this before…” Angel wrote, referencing the backlash she received for taunting Clark.
ANGEL REESE HIT CAITLIN CLARK WITH THE "YOU CAN'T SEE ME" 👀 pic.twitter.com/Zj3mqIzkk9
— ESPN (@espn) April 2, 2023
**Angel Reese does "You can't see me"**
Defenders of Caitlin Clark:pic.twitter.com/spzHJjh166
— BLACK ADAM SCHEFTER (@B1ackSchefter) April 3, 2023
More On Previous Backlash Against Angel
Due to her hand motion, some people even called the LSU star “rude” and “aggressive,” — microaggressions commonly used to insult Black women.
Reese went on to defend her actions, asserting that she was merely being “unapologetically” herself and calling out what she perceives as a double standard in the treatment of female athletes.
Even at that time, Reese expressed her frustration at the criticism singled out for her. She highlighted how people often ignore or even celebrate similar gestures by male athletes as displays of passion and competitive spirit.
“All year, I was critiqued for who I was. I don’t fit the narrative,” Reese said during a press conference after LSU’s win in April 2023.
“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. But when other people do it, and y’all don’t say nothing. So this is for the girls that look like me. For those that want to speak up for what they believe in. It’s unapologetically you. And that’s what I did it for tonight. It was bigger than me tonight. And Twitter is going to go into a rage every time.”
