Caitlin Clark says Angel Reese shouldn't be criticized for celebrating win on court

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) -- In an interview with ESPN, Iowa's Caitlin Clark comes to the defense of LSU's Angel Reese over gestures made.

Following LSU's first NCAA championship win, Reese made gestures at Clark resulting in a social media firestorm over whether the gestures were sportsmanship-like.

“All year, I was critiqued about who I was,” Reese said in a postgame interview, according to the Associated Press. “I don’t fit in a box that y’all want me to be in. I’m too hood. I’m too ghetto. 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.”

Days after the game, Clark discussed the backlash with ESPN.

"I don't think Angel should be criticized at all," Clark told ESPN on Tuesday. "You know, no matter which way it goes, she should never be criticized for what she did. You know, I'm just one that competes and she competed so I think everybody knew there was going to be a little trash talk in the entire tournament -- it's not just me and Angel."

Clark said she's a fan of Reese and that LSU deserved the win after playing so well.