Women’s basketball phenomenon Angel Reese on being cast as a ‘villain’: ‘I’ve been through so much’

Following LSU’s 94-87 loss to Iowa on Monday within the NCAA’s Elite Eight, the team’s star player, Angel Reese, is opening up in regards to the backlash she has faced throughout the season.

After the sport that ended her team’s profession, 21-year-old Reese told the press that she had “been through so much.”

“I’ve seen so much. “I’ve been attacked so many times, I’ve had death threats, I’ve been sexually abused, I’ve been threatened, I’ve been through a lot of things and I’ve stayed strong every single time,” Reese continued, based on CNN.

The day before the match, Reese told the press how the “villain role” that the media and public opinion has cast her on this season affects her.

“I think people just take it as if we hate each other,” she said, referring to the viral nonsense and high-profile “rivalry” with Iowa’s Caitlin Clark that catapulted Reese into the highlight. “Me and Caitlin Clark don’t hate each other. I want everyone to understand this. It’s just a super competitive game.”

Reese was considered by many to be the league’s villain after she faced Clark during a particularly tense moment last 12 months. Reese taunted Clark by pointing to her ring finger, suggesting that she would find yourself with a championship ring over her fiercest opponent. While for a moment everyone was having fun and each players maintained that their rivalry began and ended on the court, it was Reese who became the middle of controversy.

“I can’t really defend myself,” Reese said during an emotional postgame presser. “I have great teammates. I have a great support system. I have my hometown. I have a family that supports me.”

She continued, “I am unable to really speak on this topic simply because I try to disregard it and just attempt to stay strong… I’d still be sitting here and saying, ‘I’m unapologetically myself.’ I at all times intend to depart my mark, remain who I’m and stick with it.”

Her teammates Flau’jae Johnson and Hailey Van Lith quickly joined in.

“Man, let me let you know something. Everyone can have an opinion about Angel Reese, but not everyone knows her,” Johnson said. “I do know the true Angel Reese, and the person I see each day is a strong person; is a caring, loving person. But the crown he wears is heavy.

Van Lith, a white teammate who also recently spoke out in regards to the racism her teammates often facehe noticed Reese’s strength.

“I think Angel is one of the toughest people I have ever met,” she said. “People make her hate her life. I’ve never seen people wish someone bad as much as she does, and it doesn’t affect her. He involves training each day. She lives her life each day. He lives the way in which he wants and doesn’t let (sic!) anyone change it. This is the important thing to life. You won’t reach it. I’ll say it again. You won’t make it to Angel Reese. So you’ll be able to throw within the towel since you’re wasting energy,” Van Lith added.

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Reese says her ability to weather the storm comes from a larger goal of ultimately elevating women’s basketball.

“Okay. I’ll take the role of the villain,” she said before the last game of the season. “I’ll take the hit, but I know we’re growing women’s basketball. If we do it this way, that’s the way we do it. Or you like it, or not.”

After LSU’s loss to Iowa on Monday, Reese and Clark hugged and whispered words of encouragement to one another.

The The New York Post reported the case. that Clark told Reese to “continue to be a great player.”

“I told her, ‘Continue to be a great player, raise your level of play and win.'”

For now, it’s unclear what’s next for Reese. She may return to LSU for her senior 12 months or may decide to enter this month’s WNBA draft, where she is projected to be a first-round draft pick.