For over a year, the moment has lived on loop.

Angel Reese pointing to her ring finger. Angel Reese waving the “you can’t see me” gesture. Caitlin Clark walking away, stone-faced. Social media exploding. Think pieces multiplying. A college basketball rivalry cemented in mere seconds.

But now, Angel Reese is finally sharing what really fueled that unforgettable moment — and it turns out, it had little to do with Caitlin Clark herself, and everything to do with the world around them.

In a candid and raw interview following a Chicago Sky practice this week, Reese opened up for the first time about the emotions, the buildup, and the real reason she taunted Clark during the 2023 NCAA championship game.

And it all comes down to one word: disrespect.

“I Wasn’t Just Talking to Her — I Was Talking to Everyone”

Sitting courtside in a nearly empty Wintrust Arena, Reese is calm. Poised. But her words cut sharp.

“People thought I was just trying to humiliate Caitlin. That I was being petty or classless. But they didn’t see the months before that. The way we were talked about. The way she was praised while we were ignored.”

Reese is referring to the stark difference in how the media, and in her view, fans, perceived Caitlin Clark and the rest of the women’s college basketball field.

“She’s great — no doubt,” Reese said, quickly clarifying. “But while they were calling her confident and passionate, they were calling us aggressive and emotional. We were playing just as hard. But the stories were never about us.”

She pauses before adding, “So when I made those gestures… I wasn’t just talking to Caitlin. I was talking to everyone who refused to see us.”

“It Was Building All Season”

Reese says the feeling of being sidelined by the narrative began long before the national championship game.

Throughout the 2022–23 season, LSU was rolling through opponents. Reese was putting up historic numbers. But headlines remained focused elsewhere.

“I remember one game — I dropped 36 and 20, and the main story the next day was about someone else’s buzzer-beater in a different conference,” she says. “It’s like we had to scream just to get noticed.”

But the tipping point, according to Reese, came during the Final Four — a moment fans never saw.

“There was a comment made behind the scenes. Not by Caitlin, but by someone in the media room,” she says carefully. “They said we were ‘too loud, too flashy, not how champions should act.’”

Reese never forgot that.

The Championship Game: A Boiling Point

When LSU and Iowa faced off in the 2023 title game, the media machine had already decided its storyline.

Caitlin Clark, the darling of March Madness. The sharp-shooting underdog carrying her team on her back. A generational talent rewriting record books.

“We knew what the cameras were looking for,” Reese said. “Every shot she hit, the crowd exploded. Every time we scored? Silence.”

So when LSU took control in the second half, and Reese found herself near Clark in the closing minutes, emotions took over.

“I looked at her, and I didn’t even plan it,” she says of the taunting. “It just came out — the gestures, the words. All the disrespect we felt all year — I let it out in that second.”

And then, just like that, the backlash came.

The Aftermath: “Classless” or Honest?

Within hours, Reese was trending worldwide — and not in the way she wanted.

Sports pundits called her actions “unsportsmanlike.” Twitter threads debated race, respectability, and double standards in women’s sports. A presidential tweet about Clark’s poise stirred even more controversy.

“It was wild,” Reese recalls. “Suddenly people were talking about my character like they knew me. Like they hadn’t seen male players do ten times worse on national TV.”

The contrast in how she and Clark were portrayed — despite Clark having made similar gestures in previous games — was jarring.

“That’s what made it feel deeper than basketball,” she said. “It was like, if she does it, it’s fire. If I do it, it’s a problem.”

Clark herself downplayed the incident in interviews, telling reporters “It’s just part of the game.” But for Reese, it exposed a rift far beyond the court.

“We’re Not Rivals. We’re Mirrors.”

Despite public perception, Reese doesn’t harbor personal animosity toward Clark.

In fact, she respects her.

“Caitlin’s a beast,” she said with a smile. “She’s tough. She talks her talk. I do too. That’s what makes the game fun.”

But she does believe the way the media pits them against each other — often along racial and cultural lines — needs to change.

“They want to make it this perfect white girl vs. loud Black girl narrative. But it’s not that,” Reese said. “We’re both passionate. We both love this game. We’re just showing it differently.”

She calls their dynamic more of a “mirror” than a rivalry — a reflection of how society still struggles to embrace different expressions of excellence, emotion, and femininity in women’s sports.

Moving Forward: The WNBA Era

Now teammates in the league — Reese with the Chicago Sky, Clark with the Indiana Fever — their paths continue to cross. Every matchup draws national attention. Every moment is scrutinized.

But this time, Reese is approaching it with new clarity.

“I’m not here to make people comfortable,” she says. “I’m here to be me. Loud, proud, and unapologetic.”

Her message to young athletes?

“Don’t let the world shame your fire. You don’t have to shrink to fit their box.”

Final Words

When asked if she regrets the gesture, the taunting, the storm that followed — Reese doesn’t hesitate.

“Not one bit,” she said. “Because it started a conversation. And maybe, finally, people are listening.”