Lit Review Draft

 

Introduction:

How long have we been living in this double standard era? We have been apart of this even more recently when it comes to racism over time, and when it compares to the double standard between men’s and women’s sports, instead of appreciating the entertainment that both bring to the game.

In my overall process of choosing a social media phenomenon, I was in between different topics when choosing my final decision, but I realized that I need to be the voice of appreciating men’s and women’s sports, especially pertaining to certain situations. That situation today is this: what is so special about the Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese situation?

The ”Why”

There is so much significant meaning behind this certain situation, and I felt the need to really dig into it. I am sure that most people are going to have their own political opinion and input in this topic, which will come off as color trying to defend color, which is not the case at all. I want to tell you “why” this situation shouldn’t have escalated outside of that championship game, and why there should be no such criticism for either of the two players involved in this encounter. This relates to social media heavily because this is the only reason the problem is as big as it is, because of the toxic society that we are living in which irritates me daily.

Social media has tried to paint a racial picture in this situation against Angel Reese, calling her a black bully towards a smaller white girl, which is far from the case in this whole situation. The main audience that this has been drawn to are those who are above the age of 30+, as well as sports analysts who have their opinions on the topic overall. The most ironic part overall to me is how people are sensitive over some words and small action that was done, when nothing physical happened in this scenario.

Overall, this is a very important topic to cover and a perfect social dilemma scenario, and it also gives a huge chance to compare this situation to similar situation in men’s sports and how social media viewed them and how society was accepting or had a similar feeling such as this one. Even after this discussion, I’m not sure how much of a difference I’ll be able to make with what I have to say, but I do hope that you as the viewer/reader will be able to love and respect women’s trash talk after seeing how it compares to men’s trash talking and not be a part of the double standard.

Men vs. Women

Down here I would like to use some articles to help discuss and talk about this situation pertaining to sportsmanship and class, as well as comments about the situation within itself vs another heated situation to support the social media phenomenon of it all:

Our first quoted source comes from www.totalsportspro.com , which stated concerning Angel Reese, “The LSU Tigers star mocked Caitlin Clark during the national title game when she imitated her ‘you can’t see me’ gesture before pointing out that she’s about to get a ring.”(Lincoln, 2023) So immediately it clearly points out how she was just imitating Caitlin Clark’s gesture, and if you don’t know the background to this maybe this source can help.

This celebration stems from Clark’s encounter with Louisville basketball star Hailey Van Lith. According to Sports Illustrated, they noted,” With 3:11 to play in the game, Louisville was preparing to inbound the ball from the sideline when Clark appeared to say a sharp remark toward Van Lith. ‘You’re down 15 points. Shut up,’ Clark was interpreted as saying.” (Jackson, 2023)

So, what they did fail to point out was that she also did the John Cena “you can’t see me”, which was his signature in WWE. After further research, I came across FORTHEWIN, where they talked about this specific situation and stated,” At this stage in her prolific career, Caitlin Clark has more than earned the right to carry herself how she pleases on the court. After the Iowa women’s basketball star outdueled Louisville’s Hailey Van Lith in the Elite Eight, Clark’s reacting gesture was probably only something she could pull off.” So, considering Clark is quite easily the best basketball player in the world for college woman, she can have a pass for this…unbelievable.

They also stated in their article the actual moment saying,” After nailing a three in the waning moments, Clark appeared to turn to Van Lith and give her a classic ‘you can’t see me’ gesture with her hand. WWE wrestler John Cena would be proud of a move he popularized being used in such a cold-blooded manner: PHEW. Imagine being as good as Clark, the likely National Player of the Year, backing your play up and then also seemingly rubbing it in.” (Zeglinski, 2023) Now you see how she is being praised from a national source about this behavior, whereas Angel Reese must deal with criticizing statements such as when Keith Olbermann tweeted about her viral taunting video and saying,” What a f****** idiot”. He also added on his Twitter post saying,” 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?” (Olbermann, 2023)

This sample goes to show that there is a double standard held across the sports era, mainly in women’s sports and how they are judged by every action that they do because of their gender, and some because of their race. Olbermann is the perfect example of this all, because he talked about Angel Reese but did nothing to mention Clark’s situation originally whenever she performed these same acts prior to the championship game while they were facing Louisville.

I didn’t want to add it here, but I would like to reference a critique grading men’s sports when it comes to trash talking. I won’t use a specific moment in sports such as I will for the presentation, but a specific citation that crossed my mind was from Doug Brodess over at Bleacher Report that states,” Trash talk is as much a part of college basketball as no-look passes, tomahawk dunks and get-that-stuff-out-of-here blocks. When you watch games this upcoming season, you will see players on either team openly or skillfully attempting to get into their opponents’ heads. But we will see if any of this year’s players can break into the upper echelon of smack runners. Here are the greatest trash-talkers of college basketball history. They were fearless and fierce, ready to say just about anything to anyone.” (Brodess, 2023) Now judging off this quote, he is clearly referring to men’s basketball, regardless of the level they are playing, and constantly praising it throughout the entire article. So, if we view it as reasonable for one gender, and we are all created equal, how about respecting and appreciating women in this same role.

Methods

This is still going to be separate, but I do want to give a brief insight about what I will be doing for my method section of this overall. My main emphasis will focus on Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, two college women’s basketball players, and I am comparing their recent events with something pertaining to men’s basketball at the NBA level (if you are curious to know who will be apart of this, you must be there for the presentation). I decided to do this because I want to focus highly on these two respected athletes and how social media has blown this entire moment out of proportion, without any true background and history behind how it led up to all of this in the long run. I will be using comments, different quotes, and anything else I can find that relates to the topic at hand. This method strategy will help me also show and be able to interpret the different segregational comments that have been made over all of this entire work. The best and only feasible way that I can also go about this topic is to go to Angel Reese social media page (Instagram) in order to view different critical comments, as well as comments that are showcasing signs of segregation/racism towards her as well. Although I will not be using many statistics per say, I will link her Instagram page so that you are able to check and view these comments yourself or support her with positivity!

Conclusion

References

Lincoln, Darrelle. “Shannon Sharpe Says, ‘White & Black Trash Talk’ Is Viewed Differently amid Angel Reese-Caitlin Clark Controversy (Video).” Total Pro Sports, 3 Apr. 2023, www.totalprosports.com/ncaa/shannon-sharpe-angel-reese-caitlin-clark-trash-talk/.

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark Bluntly Squashed Trash-Talking Opponent with Epic ..., www.si.com/extra-mustard/2023/03/29/iowas-caitlin-clark-squashes-trash-talk-shut-up. Accessed 10 May 2023.

Zeglinski, Robert. “Caitlin Clark Seemingly Telling Hailey van Lith ‘you Can’t See Me’ after 41-Point Triple-Double Was so Cold.” USA Today, 28 Mar. 2023, ftw.usatoday.com/2023/03/caitlin-clark-hailey-van-lith-iowa-louisville-you-can’t-see-me-savage-video.

Macasero, Michael. “What Did Keith Olbermann Say about Angel Reese? Samuel L. Jackson, Shaq and Others Tear into Commentator over Viral Tweet.” Sports News, 4 Apr. 2023, www.sportskeeda.com/basketball/news-what-keith-olbermann-say-angel-reese-samuel-l-jackson-shaq-tear-commentator-viral-tweet.

“Column: Angel Reese Isn’t Harming Women’s Sports. Her Pearl-Clutching Critics Are.” Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2023, www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-04-03/angel-reese-caitlin-clark-taunting-criticism-sportsmanship-womens-sports.

Brodess, Doug. “The Greatest Trash-Talkers in College Basketball History.” Bleacher Report, 14 Sept. 2017, bleacherreport.com/articles/1754179-the-greatest-trash-talkers-in-college-basketball-history.