During an appearance Wednesday on “The Jennifer Hudson Show,” Reese, who faced backlash for taunting Clark with the John Cena “you can’t see me” celebration before pointing to her ring finger during last month’s title game, spoke about the Lady Tigers’ 102-85 win over the Hawkeyes being overshadowed by the controversy.
The Incident sparked a debate about racial bias in sports. But despite the controversy, Reese and her teammates are proud of the attention the moment brought to women’s basketball.
Reese, 20, and her champion teammates Alexis Morris and Flau’jae Johnson appeared on The Jennifer Hudson Show Wednesday and discussed the media attention around their NCAA championship.
Hudson, 41, said “everyone” has seen the clip of Reese and Iowa star Caitlin Clark’s infamous trash talk moment during the tournament, but asked Reese what it was like having their championship be “overshadowed” by the drama around her and Clark.
Reese said it was “frustrating” to have her team’s hard work overlooked, but that ultimately she’s proud of the exposure the moment brought to women’s basketball.
“I mean, 9.9 million people watched the game. That’s more than the men. I know one day we’re going down in the history books, so it’s bigger than me,”
Reese added.
The self-proclaimed “Bayou Barbie” told Hudson that she and her teammates “put a lot of sweat and tears into that championship” and she’s not sure viewers fully understood that. “People don’t realize that, it’s not easy to win a championship.”
Reese explained that she and Clark “are cool” and there was never any “beef” between them. She noted that both her and the Iowa star are ultra-competitive on the court, so the trash talk shouldn’t be a surprise.
“We’re the top of our class and to see how much we’ve grown women’s basketball in a year, that’s what it was for both of us,” Reese said.
Johnson, 19, told Hudson that Angel’s trash talk shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. “First of all, Angel is going to be her regardless and we support that,” she said.
