Angel Reese reflects on criticism of her at LSU: 'I'm unapologetically me'

During her time at LSU, Angel Reese has become a star in women’s college basketball. Along the way, she’s also received plenty of criticism.

Reese reflected on that criticism during her time at LSU following the team’s recent loss in the Elite Eight to Iowa and explained that she’s unapologetically herself.

“I don’t really get to stand up for myself,” Angel Reese said. “I mean, I have great teammates. I have a great support system. I’ve got my hometown. I’ve got my family that stands up for me. I don’t really get to speak out on things because I just ignore. I just try to stand strong. I’ve been through so much. I’ve seen so much. I’ve been attacked so many times, death threats, I’ve been sexualized, I’ve been threatened, I’ve been so many things, and I’ve stood strong every single time.”

Angel Reese came to LSU ahead of the 2022-23 season, after starting her career at Maryland. During that first year with the Tigers, she had a phenomenal season, being named a First-Team All-American and even winning an ESPY for being the Best Breakthrough Athlete on her way to a national championship.

However, along the way, Reese garnered a lot of criticism. In particular, there were fans who took issue with her using Caitlin Clark‘s “you can’t see me” celebration against her in the national championship game. Still, despite that criticism, Reese wants to continue to be who she is as a person and a player.

“I just try to stand strong for my teammates because I don’t want them to see me down and not be there for them. I just want to always know, I’m still a human. All this has happened since I won the National Championship, and I said the other day (indiscernible) happy since then,” Reese said.

“And it sucks, but I still wouldn’t change. I wouldn’t change anything, and I would still sit here and say I’m unapologetically me. I’m going to always leave that mark and be who I am and stand on that. And hopefully, the little girls that look up to me, and hopefully I give them some type of inspiration that know hopefully it’s not this hard and all the things that come at you, but keep being who you are, keep waking up every day, keep being motivated, staying who you are, stand ten toes, don’t back down, and just be confident.”

Angel Reese is now weighing the decision on whether to return to LSU or turn pro. When asked about it, she made it clear that she doesn’t have one yet, but she’ll make that decision “when I’m ready.”