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LSU Tigers star Angel Reese has reenacted her John Cena-inspired "You can't see me" hand gesture as the NCAA women's basketball champions paraded through Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Wednesday.
The forward has made the gesture her own after she controversially did it right in front of Caitlin Clark. The Iowa star has cleaned up the player of the year awards but lost out on being a national champion after the Hawkeyes' 102-85 defeat to the Tigers on Sunday.
While the gesture has been called out by many as disrespectful, this hasn't stopped an explosion of followers to Reese's social media. The numbers have doubled on some platforms, and she is heading past 1 million followers on both Instagram and TikTok.
Despite the meaning of her gesture, basketball fans can very much see Reese now, and she is reveling in the attention that it has brought.
"Issa parade inside my city!"
— Perry Robinson, III (@ThePRobReport) April 6, 2023
A parade fit for a champion as thousands of fans celebrated the LSU Lady Tigers and their first ever national championship.
Here's a few of the sights and sounds from today. @WAFB @LSUwbkb pic.twitter.com/2RPL3VlTCJ
Speaking to WAFB news station at the celebration in Baton Rouge, Reese said: "The Bayou Barbie is here. We got a parade inside our city, yeah."
Reese quoted a rap song by YoungBoy Never Broke Again that Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant has also referenced.
Reese added: "All these people come out to support women's basketball. I love it, I can't wait to get another one. The crown, that stayed home—we gonna wait for next season. You can't see me!"
Amid the furore about the hand gesture, Reese explained after the game in an interview with ESPN, that she did it because she believed Clark had "disrespected" her teammate Alexis Morris.
On Sunday, Reese said: "I was waiting. Caitlin Clark is a hell of a player for sure, but I don't take disrespect lightly. She disrespected Alexis [Morris] and my girls, South Carolina. They're my SEC girls, too. Y'all not going to disrespect them either."
Clark had done her fair amount of trash-talking throughout the tournament. She said that she didn't have any problem with Reese and described her as a "tremendous player."
Speaking to ESPN on Tuesday, Clark said: "We're all competitive. We all show our emotions in a different way.
"Angel's a tremendous, tremendous player. I have nothing but respect for her. I love her game. The way she rebounds the ball, scores the ball is absolutely incredible.
"I'm a big fan of her, even the whole LSU team, the way they played. I don't think there should be any criticism for what she did," Clark added.
She concluded: "I honestly didn't see it when the game was going on and, like I said, I haven't been on social media at all."
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