The most-watched women’s NCAA basketball championship has provoked a heated debate about whether an athlete’s race influences how we perceive good sportsmanship and competitive rivalries.
LSU star Angel Reese, who won the women’s March Madness’ Most Outstanding Player award, waved her open hand in front of her face at Iowa Hawkeyes’ Caitlin Clark near the end of the Tigers’ victory on Sunday.
The gesture, meaning “you can’t see me,” had been used by Clark toward a Louisville opponent in the Elite Eight. Bleacher Report said that in that same game, Clark said to an opponent: “You’re down by 15 points. Shut up.” ESPN produced a segment hailing Clark as the “Queen of Clapbacks” featuring these moments of taunting by her. Reese is Black; Clark is white.
The reaction to Reese, however, included Dave Portnoy, founder of the site Barstool Sports, tweeting that she was a “classless piece of (expletive)” and Keith Olbermann calling her an “(expletive) idiot” on Twitter. Olbermann later clarified his remark and posted: “I apologize for being uninformed last night about the back story on this. I don't follow hoops, college or pro, men or women. I had no idea about Clark. Both were wrong.”
Olbermann’s admission in this situation is a rarity. Most people double down when they are challenged, especially when it comes to matters of racial bias.
The ones who doubled down on their criticism of Reese said the circumstances of the game were different when she reacted versus Clark’s previous behavior.
Mark Harris with Outkick argues that Clark threw up her hand for half a second while walking to the bench, and Reese did the motion multiple times two feet from Clark’s face.
That kind of parsing, which ignores the more aggressive moments of Clark's previous behavior, comes across as a missed opportunity to reflect on how we instinctively judge human behavior.
Part of what makes Twitter so revealing is that we get to see people’s immediate first takes — before we’ve had a chance to pause and think about what might be fueling our reactions and if there are any inconsistencies in our own perception. Those initial moments are when our subconscious plays a greater role in response to an event.
Do we respond the same way to "trash talk" among professional male athletes that we do to women? Does a temper tantrum by John McEnroe or Jimmy Connors provoke the same feelings and coverage as Serena Williams’ outbursts?
Reese called out a double standard in how she is perceived versus other players. In the press conference after the victory, she said:
“All year, I was critiqued for who I was. I don’t fit the narrative. 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.”
It’s undeniable that intense rivalries, leading to taunting and trash talk have long been part of the spectacle of sports. We can debate the role and appropriateness of such behavior — from youth players to elite professionals — and disagree about when it crosses the line.
Like many parents of student athletes, I want my own child to show respect to his competitors and win with grace. It goes back to the fundamental Golden Rule of treating others how you want to be treated.
Do we respond the same way to "trash talk" among professional male athletes that we do to women? Does a temper tantrum by John McEnroe or Jimmy Connors provoke the same feelings and coverage as Serena Williams’ outbursts?
Reese called out a double standard in how she is perceived versus other players. In the press conference after the victory, she said:
“All year, I was critiqued for who I was. I don’t fit the narrative. 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.”
It’s undeniable that intense rivalries, leading to taunting and trash talk have long been part of the spectacle of sports. We can debate the role and appropriateness of such behavior — from youth players to elite professionals — and disagree about when it crosses the line.
Like many parents of student athletes, I want my own child to show respect to his competitors and win with grace. It goes back to the fundamental Golden Rule of treating others how you want to be treated.
