Dan Patrick chimes in on Angel Reese’s taunt - “Angel Reese does it, and we’re going to vilify her?"
There were plenty of eyes on the NCAA women's national championship game as Iowa and LSU faced off. LSU secured an impressive 102-85 victory to secure the first championship in the program's history.
However, the story became more about the antics as the game closed out, which has drawn reactions and opinions from people everywhere. With LSU holding a big lead as the clock wound down, Angel Reese was not shy about letting Iowa star Caitlin Clark hear about the imminent results.
This is cold by Angel Reese 😬 https://t.co/vZHOZTQHRh
The internet was split on this as many pointed out that Caitlin Clark has not been shy about her trash talk during the tournament, while others called the act classless. On "The Dan Patrick Show," Patrick said:
"Caitlin Clark does that all the time. We found it cute," Dan Patrick said. "But then Angel Reese does it, and then we're going to vilify her? I'm not going to do that today. If you talk it, then have to accept it. I would do that when I played. I wanted you to know and then when you turned it on me, then it's on me. I gotta eat it, and that's what happened here."
"Caitlin Clark does that all the time. We found it cute. But then Angel Reese does it, and we're going to vilify her? I'm not going to do that today. If you talk it, then you have to accept it."
-DP reacts to the Women's College Basketball Final #LSU #Iowa https://t.co/6prG27uCAa
Dan Patrick preaches there is more to the story
Dan Patrick provided some much-needed context to the situation. He referenced his belief that LSU felt disrespected by the lack of coverage surrounding them.
In comparison, Caitlin Clark has become a media darling and has had plenty of coverage surrounding her impressive play. Patrick also emphasized Clark's antics as a trash talker throughout her college career and said that race is playing a role in the debate, especially on social media.
It is frustrating that after one of the most exciting, successful, and most-watched NCAA Tournaments in women's basketball history, all of the buzz seems to purely be about this altercation. Instead, it should be looked at as a massive win for women's basketball and the strides being made to grow the game.
Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark are two of the most talented and exciting players in the sport and are able to talk their talk as much as they want. Both players also spoke highly of the other to the media following the game, and each will be returning for their senior years next season.
While the event may have been blown out of proportion, it should be a positive sign for women's basketball that these types of waves are being caused by it. There looks to be a growing rivalry between LSU and Iowa, and both teams will surely be looking forward to a matchup next year, should one occur.