Angel Reese, a forward on the Louisiana State University Tigers’ basketball team, was forced to defend herself against an unfair and racist double standard after LSU’s championship win against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the women’s March Madness tournament. Her opponent, a white player on the Iowa Hawkeyes, is well-known for trash-talking and taunting opponents during high-stakes games, with virtually no pushback on social media. Yet, when Angel Reese mimicked the Iowa player’s taunt in the championship game, she was called “classless” and “unsportsmanlike” while her opponent played coy and was treated like a victim in postgame interviews. 

Angel’s response to the criticism was powerful: 

“All year, I was critiqued about who I was. I don't fit the narrative. I don't fit in 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, y'all say nothing. So this was for the girls that look like me, that's going to speak up on what they believe in. It's unapologetically you. That's what I did it for tonight. It was bigger than me tonight. It was bigger than me.”

We’ve seen this double standard play out before. Our members have fought for athletes like Gwen Berry, Sha’Carri Richardson, and Brianna Rollins-McNeal against arbitrary and archaic standards that unfairly punish Black women athletes. Now we’re asking COC members to answer the call to stand with Angel Reese.

Sign our petition in support of Angel Reese. We’ll send your signature and kind words to her in a show of solidarity from our members.

Here is the Petition:

I'm signing on because I support Black women and girls' ability to unapologetically be themselves. We see you and stand with you, Angel!