Caitlin Clark Breaks Silence on Angel Reese Controversy

University of Iowa forward Caitlin Clark has spoken out on the criticism her recent championship opponent, Louisiana State University (LSU) forward Angel Reese, received for a hand gesture she displayed during Sunday's women's NCAA basketball tournament final.

LSU defeated Iowa in the highly anticipated game, which saw two of the collegiate league's star players in Clark and Reese face off. One moment from late in the game, however, dominated the conversation in the aftermath of the game: Reese flashing a waving hand gesture popularized by professional wrestler John Cena towards Clark.

Reese was subjected to a considerable amount of criticism from some observers, who derided the gesture "classless" and unsportsmanlike, despite many others perceiving it as a harmless and playful gesture among competitors. The conversation also sparked conversations about racial double standards. Clark, a white woman, used the gesture two games earlier in a winning bout against Louisville and was not subjected to such critiques that Reese, a Black woman, has.