LSU's Flau'jae Johnson, Hailey Van Lith Attack Media Over Angel Reese Criticism
ALBANY, NY – The LSU Tigers women's basketball team has used "media hate" to fuel their fire this season, and they didn't let the fire die even after Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes eliminated the Tigers on Monday night in the Elite Eight.
Both Flau'jae Johnson and Hailey Van Lith attacked the media during their postgame press conference, saying the press unfairly criticizes Angel Reese. Reese cried as her teammates made their remarks.
Without prompting, Johnson jumped to the defense of Reese.
"Man, let me tell you something," Johnson said. "Everybody can have their opinion on Angel Reese, but y'all don't know her … I know the real Angel Reese, and the person I see every day is a strong person, is a caring, loving person. But the crown she wears is heavy.
"The media, y'all, how they like to twist and call it a villain and all that, y'all don't know Angel."
LSU Lady Tigers guard Flau'jae Johnson and forward Angel Reese react in the first quarter against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the finals of the Albany Regional in the 2024 NCAA Tournament at MVP Arena.
(Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports)
The moderator started to ask for the next question, but Van Lith jumped into the conversation.
"I'll say something, too," Van Lith interjected. "I think Angel is one of the toughest people I've been around. People speak hate into her life. I've never seen people wish bad things on someone as much as her, and it does not affect her.
"Y'all do not get to her. Let me say it again. Y'all do not get to Angel Reese," Van Lith enunciated each syllable during her double-down, also gesturing toward the media while she said it. "So, you might want to throw the towel in because you're wasting your energy. Angel is one of the toughest people I've been around."
Reese wiped tears from her eyes and, at one point, Johnson reached up to her teammate's face to help her.
Later, Reese made her statement.
"I've been through so much; I've seen so much," Reese said. "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."
It's worth noting that Reese did not clarify what she meant when she said she had been "sexualized," but after LSU's win in the Sweet 16 over UCLA, Reese mentioned that she enjoys modeling.
"Me being able to be on the court but also off the court, I like to model and do other things. I can do both," Reese said after Saturday's victory.
Flau'jae Johnson and Hailey Van Lith both attacked the media for criticizing LSU teammate Angel Reese.
(USA Today Sports)
Reese said that despite the criticism, she has no plans to change.
"I wouldn't change anything, and I would still sit here and say I'm unapologetically me," she said. "I'm going to always leave that mark and be who I am and stand on that."
She declined to talk about whether she planned to enter the WNBA Draft or return to LSU – she has one year of college eligibility left thanks to the COVID season.
"I'll make a decision when I'm ready," she said.
The LSU Tigers women's basketball team used an "us against the world mentality" last season and won the National Championship, beating Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes.
This season, Clark's Hawkeyes got revenge and took down LSU to advance to the Final Four. The Tigers aggressively pushed the narrative that everyone hates them, using that as a rallying cry to help them win games.
But that hate-fueled run came to an end on Monday night in Albany, N.Y.