In the wake of Angel Reese‘s heartfelt reflection on the trials she faced throughout the college basketball season, including severe online harassment. Emmanuel Acho’s recent remarks have stirred significant controversy. Despite Reese’s candid discussion about the undue villainization and personal attacks she endured, Acho’s critique of her emotional expression after the Elite Eight loss to Iowa has drawn criticism for seemingly undermining the broader context of her struggles. The tweet below is a perfect example of Angel being seen as the villain that America has shaped her into as they cheer for their sweetheart, Caitlin Clark.
Angel Reese was destroyed by Caitlin Clark and Iowa… she is a sore loser and lacks humility. Playing the victim with fake tears 😂 pic.twitter.com/zAoL0lNBFX
— boxingMD (@BoxingMD1) April 2, 2024
Acho’s controversial statements regarding Angel Reese after the Lady Tigers’ loss earlier this week sparked backlash from media, fans, and athletes. Amid the slander, Acho put out a tweet claiming that his take was racially indifferent and gender-neutral. However, he has let the media and public perception cloud his judgment of who Angel Reese is.
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
His comments were confusing as he mentioned that black women were the most marginalized group in the country, while he, in turn, marginalized Reese. He assured that his take was racially indifferent and gender neutral. His quote, nor his delivery, landed and it has created a series of discourses throughout social media. Critics argue that his attempt to provide a “racially indifferent and gender-neutral” perspective on the situation dismisses the nuanced challenges black women athletes like Reese confront. Amidst the fallout, voices from the sports world, including Ryan Clark and Matt Barnes, have rallied in Reese’s defense, highlighting the complexities of navigating media portrayal and public perception in sports.
Barnes said that he respectfully disagreed with Acho, as he had to deal with being painted as a villain in the media during his playing career. Barnes believes Reese embraced what the media had painted her to be. Barnes mentioned that you cannot fault a college player for crying in what became the last game of her college career. As Barnes said, it seems as if Reese will be judged and someone will have a problem with anything she does. She is in a lose-lose situation.
Former LSU Grad and NFL Cornerback Ryan Clark was a little direct with his tweet. Emmanuel took to social media this afternoon to explain his thoughts on the discourse following his comments on Tuesday.
Sometimes when folks try to be too intelligent that they say dumbest sh*t!
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) April 3, 2024
“I want to say a quick thank you to everyone who has respectfully reprimanded me and has offered brilliant opinions on the Angel Reese conversation,” Acho said in a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. “I do not believe there is any one way to think about things.” Acho thanked Ryan Clark and Essence Atkins, to name a few people who have reached out and said something publicly or privately, educating him on his thoughts.
“I understand, I understand. Life is about understanding. So I just want to applaud those publicly and privately who have respectfully, the operative word there being respectfully reprimanded me. Matt Barnes! Incredibly wise words. I do thank you all for that. I do not stand on a hill saying ‘I am right’ and you are wrong,’ I simply stand on a place saying ‘This is what I believe, what do you believe? Let’s listen to one another.'”
Regarding the Angel Reese dialogue: thank you. pic.twitter.com/SUtjE87iaP
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) April 4, 2024
In the video, the word “respect” was frequently mentioned, and it appears that this will not be the last time the former NFL player’s opinions provoke controversy. Nonetheless, it was prudent of him to release a video indicating his awareness of why his opinions might upset others. Equally significant was his admission that he has engaged in conversations with individuals who have enlightened him on his potential contribution to the issues Reese encountered over the season.
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