On Jan. 19 against Arkansas, LSU women’s basketball’s Angel Reese put on a show to the tune of 30 points, 19 rebounds, and one incredible block made while holding her own shoe, a play that quickly went viral.
It was yet another spectacular performance in a season full of them for Reese, the sophomore transfer from Maryland who is one of the best players in the country.
The game was noteworthy for several reasons. For one, it was Reese’s 19th straight game recording a double-double, tying the program record set by Sylvia Fowles, which Reese has since broken.
The match against Arkansas, a narrow 79-76 victory, was also only LSU’s second win of the season by a single-digit margin. The Tigers’ season so far has been one of blowouts, and the Razorbacks are the first team all year to have held a lead at any point in the second half against LSU.
Challenged by an opponent they expected to beat with relative ease, the Tigers were clearly becoming frustrated throughout the course of the game, both with themselves and with what they perceived as poor officiating. These emotions got the better of LSU and contributed to the Razorbacks hanging around.
Many times, LSU players were particularly demonstrative after poor calls and were equally unrestrained celebrating their good plays. For example, Reese’s taunting after her block, where she stood over an Arkansas player, resulted in a technical foul.
These blatant and forceful displays of emotion came under criticism, with some suggesting that LSU was spitting in the face of sportsmanship. Fans claimed Reese and the Tigers didn’t respect their opponent or follow the unwritten rules of the game.
In what was a monumental game for Reese, there were plenty of dominant moments that warranted a celebration. Reese didn’t pass up these opportunities to talk trash or let her opponents know that she was schooling them.
Maybe she got carried away, but in a tightly-contested conference game where she had to work hard and overcome, she was responding in the way a competitor does.
Reese expressed as much in a tweet after the game, saying “if it was a boy y’all wouldn’t be saying nun at all. Let’s normalize women showing passion for the game instead of it being ‘embarrassing’.”
Reese has a point here: in male athletics, passion is applauded even when it comes out in unsavory ways. Professional players like Ja Morant play with competitive fire that comes out frequently both on and off the court.
When Tom Brady tosses tablets on the sideline, we view it as a byproduct of his intensity–the same intensity that’s brought him seven Super Bowls. You don’t see that success without a bit of attitude.
There’s certainly a line where emotion crosses over into being unsportsmanlike, and while that line is hard to define, it’s safe to say the line isn’t at finger wagging and head thrashing. In fact, when fans see referees stop the game to issue a penalty for something seemingly inconsequential like a taunt, they understandably get upset. It disrupts the flow of the game and, in rare cases, can even swing the outcome.
That feeling stems from perceived unfairness: why should referees have the right to officiate how much emotion is allowed, especially in an inherently emotional sport? Most fans would prefer to let the game play out and stop taking passion out of the game.
For some reason, when it comes to Reese, the attitude shifts. People suddenly assume the same authority they criticize when used by referees. The same fans who love a good post-dunk staredown want Reese to be more reserved when she drops 30 and 10.
This attitude is an example of the sexism present in sports, with a double standard for how male and female athletes are perceived and what’s considered appropriate for them to do. The emotion Reese showed against Arkansas and has shown all season is commonplace at all levels of every sport, and it’s usually not regarded with as much criticism as it is with Reese and other female athletes.
For fans, the lesson may be to celebrate greatness regardless of gender–and let greatness celebrate itself. If you were as unstoppable as Angel Reese, you’d want to show off, too.
