Caitlin Clark on Angel Reese Controversy: ‘She Should Never be Criticized for What She Did’
The other side of the most controversial sports topic of the week has spoken.
Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark has spoken after two days of sports commentators and fans opining on Angel Reese’s taunting of Clark towards the end of LSU’s National Championship win over the Hawkeyes.
Here’s the video of the moment from Sunday afternoon.
Well Clark, has chimed on and told ESPN, “I don’t think Angel should be criticized at all. No matter what way it goes, she should never be criticized for what she did. I compete, she competed. It was a super, super fun game. I think that’s what’s going to bring more people to our game.”
So, that’s that.
Is that enough for sports fans to stop arguing on social media about things the people involved aren’t offended by? Of course not.
What should be more controversial is the officiating from the game, including Kim Mulkey contacting an official, while not even receiving a warning, never mind a technical.
Most importantly, what should excite all women’s college basketball fans is the ratings, which saw a record-setting number of viewers on Sunday afternoon tune into the game. According to ESPN, the game drew an average of 9.9 million viewers, peaking at 12.6 million, making it the most-viewed NCAA Division I women’s college basketball game of all time across all platforms.
For further context, this game matched or exceeded the viewership of every Major League Baseball Postseason except for the World Series, every NASCAR race since 2017, every NHL game in more than 50 years (including the Stanley Cup Final), and every game of last year’s NBA Playoffs except for the NBA Finals.
In fact, only 11 college football games from the 2022 season averaged a larger audience, including the College Football Playoff.
Everything from the off-court drama to the on-court product has made this a great week for women’s college basketball.
