ALBANY, N.Y. — LSU sophomore guard Flau'jae Johnson took to the podium Monday night following the Tigers' season-ending loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Elite Eight and passionately defended her teammate, Angel Reese.
Reese has been at the center of national criticism since last year's national championship win over Caitlin Clark and Iowa after Reese looked at Clark toward the end of the game and pointed at her ring finger, which many on social media used as fuel to villainize Reese as an unsportsmanlike player, despite Clark mirroring a similar move in last year's NCAA Tournament just a week prior.
Clark's move was memorably celebrated by those on social media, with those talking about her greatness. When Reese made the gesture toward Clark, it was widely condemned.
After LSU's loss to Iowa on Monday night, Johnson and senior guard Hailey Van Lith flanked an emotional and hurting Reese at the podium, who talked about the emotional pain she's endured over the past year until now.
"I don't really get to stand up for myself," Reese said. "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.”
Johnson, a native of Savannah, Georgia, and a standout at Sprayberry High School in Marietta spoke to Reese's character and shot down criticism Reese has received.
"Everybody can have their opinion on Angel Reese. But y'all don't know her. Like, y'all don't know Angel Reese. I know Angel Reese. I know the real Angel Reese," Johnson explained. "And the person I see every day is a strong person. A caring, loving person. By the crown she wears heavy, bro. She's the type of teammate that will make you believe in yourself."
Reese held back tears and sniffled as Johnson and Van Lith viciously defended the type of person Reese is, both on and off the court.
“The leap that I took from my freshman to my sophomore year, Angel, gave me that confidence to go be a dog. Playing next to a dog every day," Johnson said. "And just to see how the media ridicules her, we went through our problems, but this is my sister right here, and I’m so proud of her … How they (the media) like to twist it and call her the villain and all of that, y’all don’t know Angel, bro. And I’m just happy that I get to play with her. I get to be around her presence, her energy -- it's different. She just makes me a better player … and that’s what great players do.”
Above all else, Reese wanted to remind those out there who have sent her hateful messages that she is simply human.
"I just try to stand strong for my teammates because I don't want them to see me down and, like, not be there for them. So, I just want them to always just know that I'm still a human. All this has happened since I won the national championship, and I said the other day I haven't been 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 that I am unapologetically me. I am going to always leave that mark and be who I am and stand on that. Hopefully, the little girls look up to me, and hopefully, I give them some type of inspiration that, you know, hopefully, it's not this hard ... but keep being who you are."
