Apr 1, 2024; Albany, NY, USA; LSU Lady Tigers forward Angel Reese (10) reacts in the third quarter against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the finals of the Albany Regional in the 2024 NCAA Tournament at MVP Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
After the Iowa Hawkeyes beat the LSU Tigers and eliminated them from the NCAA Tournament, star forward Angel Reese gave an insight into the online harassment she faced for mocking Caitlin Clark in last year’s final.
Reacting to this on FS1’s ‘Speak’, Fox Sports analyst Emmanuel Acho dismissed the Tigers star’s emotional revelation, saying,
Angel Reese, you can’t be the big bad wolf and then kind of cry like Courage the Cowardly Dog… Nobody mourns when the villain catches an L, and, Angel Reese, you’re self-proclaimed to be the villain… You can’t, under any circumstances, go to the podium and now try to ask for individuals to give you sympathy. Nobody has sympathy for the villain. You painted the bullseye on your back. Why are you surprised when people shoot at you?”
Black women have historically been the most marginalized group in America, but I’m going to give a gender neutral and racially indifferent take on Angel Reese:
“In sports, you can’t act like the big bad wolf, then cry like courage the cowardly dog.” pic.twitter.com/aUtxZ7JHk4
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) April 2, 2024
Acho caught a lot of flak for his piping-hot take on social media. Noted NBA presenter Taylor Rooks wrote a massive response to the analyst’s claim, where she detailed everything wrong with his ill-informed take.
Respectfully, colleague – The disappointing thing about this take is you actually can’t have an informed opinion on this if you are choosing to be gender neutral and racially indifferent. Because that is impossible. Her existence as a black woman shapes both how she is seen by… https://t.co/MCffgUbace
— Taylor Rooks (@TaylorRooks) April 3, 2024
On Thursday, Acho posted a video backtracking his comments but Reese was in no mood to forgive. She sneakily responded to the analyst’s video with a post that read,
“Make sure that apology is as loud as the disrespect.”
make sure that apology is as loud as the disrespect. 😘
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) April 5, 2024
Acho’s apology video for his controversial take was seemingly insufficient for Reese.
That said, it is hard to blame her. Backlash from what seems like the entire world can be grating on absolutely anybody, no matter how mentally tenacious they may be.
The kind of problems this can cause go far beyond basketball.
In this situation, the human side of athletes needs to be given serious consideration, and Acho’s blatant ignorance of it in his take makes it beyond unacceptable.
Emmanuel Acho responds to social media backlash
Credits: USA TODAY SPORTS
After receiving backlash for his outrageous take from notable personalities, including former NBA star Matt Barnes, Emmanuel Acho backtracked on his comments in a video on X, formerly Twitter. In the video, he said,
“I just want to say a quick thank you to everyone who has respectfully reprimanded me and offered brilliant opinions on the Angel Reese conversation. I do not believe there is any one way to think about things… I think life is all about understanding. And so I just want to applaud those publicly, you watching, and those privately who have respectfully, the operative word there being respectfully, who have respectfully reprimanded me.”
Regarding the Angel Reese dialogue: thank you. pic.twitter.com/SUtjE87iaP
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) April 4, 2024
Acho stopped short of apologizing and expressed his gratitude for those who “respectfully reprimanded” him for his bizarre take. Unsurprisingly, the video did little to douse the flames of criticism.
Regarding the Angel Reese dialogue: thank you. pic.twitter.com/SUtjE87iaP
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) April 4, 2024
Regarding the Angel Reese dialogue: thank you. pic.twitter.com/SUtjE87iaP
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) April 4, 2024
Fans in the replies did not hold back in their criticism of Acho, accusing him of rambling in the video and not addressing Angel Reese or apologizing to her. And until there is a direct apology, it is unlikely that this will end anytime soon.