Shocking news: A star player for the LSU women’s basketball is banned while sending a powerful statment to the team
AP/Bayton Rouge, Louisiana At the beginning of their defense of the national championship, the seventh-ranked Tigers are drawing unwelcome attention due to the absence of star player Angel Reese from LSU games and the lack of explanation provided by coach Kim Mulkey.
The drama surrounding Reese’s absence and the negative remarks made on social media by some players’ parents started recently, shortly after the team that appeared to be the archetypal super team in this new era of lax regulations surrounding player endorsement earnings and transfers suffered an unexpected season-opening defeat.
Reese’s return to the club for a home game against Texas Southern on Monday was not mentioned.
Grant Kauvar, the program spokesperson for LSU women’s basketball, stated that he was unable to estimate Reese’s time of return and advised fans to “come to the game and see.” Mulkey’s remarks prior to last Friday’s game at Southeastern Louisiana, which Reese was unable to attend, were mirrored by that.
Mulkey’s silence over Reese, one of the most well-liked and financially successful players in all of women’s collegiate athletics, has put LSU in a difficult PR position and may have given rise to more rumors than LSU would have preferred. However, based on the limited information Mulkey has provided—referring to Reese’s benching against Kent State last Tuesday in the second half as a “coach’s decision”—it does not seem to be a compliance issue.
Reese’s academic achievement was brought up by Kia Brooks, the mother of sophomore guard Flau’Jae Johnson, during a back-and-forth on the social media platform Instagram.
Brooks answered, “You definitely know about grammar errors when your daughter got a 2.0-or-less grade point average,” to Reese’s mother, Angel Webb Reese, who had previously critiqued Brooks’ grammar in a post. Take ownership of your acts and those of your daughter, and put an end to your petty, phony, and cruel behavior.
The exact reference made by Brooks to Reese’s grade-point average has not been verified. Mulkey has refrained from commenting on the posts made by the parents, and universities do not share transcripts without the consent of the student in question.
A player missing games due to academic eligibility after the basketball season began but before the end of the first semester of the next year would be extremely exceptional.
Players who are prohibited from playing for academic reasons are also allowed to participate in other team events and even watch games from the bench alongside teammates who are not wearing uniforms.
Reese, who has almost 378,000 followers on the social networking platform X (previously Twitter), hasn’t posted anything on the site much lately except from a message that stated, “Please don’t believe everything you read.”
During Friday night’s 73-50 victory over Southeastern, Mulkey stated, “We hope to see Angel sooner rather than later.” Reese is a member of this basketball squad.
