*Shaquille O’Neal told Keith Olbermann to “shut your dumb a** up” after the former ESPN anchor slammed the on-court antics of LSU’s Angel Reese during her team’s title game win Sunday over Iowa.
Reese, a Black woman, is being attacked online for taunting Iowa star Caitlin Clark. Clark is known for using WWE wrestler John Cena’s signature hand gesture “you can’t see me” to her opponents.
When Reese served up the same move to Iowa guard Clark — and also pointed at her ring finger to signify a championship — the anti-Black crowd rushed to Twitter to express their fury.
Many Twitters users noted that when Clark uses the move, she is labeled “competitive” but a Black player doing it gets called called “ghetto”.
Olbermann was one of many to call Reese “classless.”
yeah my uncle shaq don’t play bout me. period. https://t.co/BnAZ5XcwWb
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) April 3, 2023
Olbermann on Sunday tweeted that Reese is “a f***ing idiot.”
He added, “Doesn’t matter the gender, the sport, the background — you’re seconds away from a championship, and you do something like this and overshadow all the good. Mindless, classless, and what kind of coach does this team have?”
Shaq told Olbermann to “shut your dumb a** up” and to “leave Angel Reese alone”. Several other Twitter users also called on Olbermann to give that same energy to Clark for making the “can’t see me” taunts during a game.
On Monday, Olbermann apologized.
“When Caitlin Clark did it, it was swag, but when Angel Reese does it, it’s classless. It’s very clear: this is not about anything else but race.”
— @ShannonSharpe pic.twitter.com/kHTLY4sEKT
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) April 3, 2023
“I apologize for being uninformed last night about the back story on this,” he tweeted. “I don’t follow hoops, college or pro, men or women. I had no idea about Clark. Both were wrong.”
He added, “Reese was named MVP of the tournament, and nobody will remember that, nor the LSU crown, just the fact that women’s hoops has now achieved parity with the men: its stars can be classless winners who are willing to overshadow their own team’s victories.”
Meanwhile, several sports stars and influencers have come to Reese’s defense, including LeBron James, Jalen Rose, and Shannon Sharpe. See their reactions below.
shut your dumb ass up leave angel reese alone.
— SHAQ (@SHAQ) April 3, 2023
When a white woman from Iowa, Caitlin Clark taunts the other team during a game it’s “funny” and “part of competition”.
When a black woman from Louisiana, Angel Reese, decides to do it back, she’s “not showing sportsmanship” and “disgusting”.
If you ever needed an example of… pic.twitter.com/MuHMdO4Tsn
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) April 3, 2023
How Angel Reese is being vilified by many highlights exactly what @dawnstaley was talking about.
— Jalen Rose (@JalenRose) April 2, 2023
FACTS!!!! Love to see it https://t.co/YrrlIyg90S
— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 3, 2023
Barstool sports president Dave Portnoy called LSU player Angel Reese “a classless piece of sh*t” for taunting Caitlin Clark during the championship game. Wallo & Gille said they don’t cosign none of that. ???? pic.twitter.com/7vvEi0icAB
— No Jumper (@nojumper) April 4, 2023
