Women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark and her Iowa basketball teammates managed a win against the LSU Tigers on the night of April 1, tossing the Tigers from the tournament in the Elite Eight round and advancing Iowa to the Final Four round of the tournament. The game was made all the more dramatic by the LSU team’s missing the national anthem before the game, something that infuriated many conservatives online, though LSU always misses the anthem because of its pre-game routine.
In fact, LSU was beaten 94-87 by Iowa, and the internet sounded off on LSU for not showing respect for the national anthem. For example, conservative commentator Benny Johnson discussed the pre-game disrespect toward the national anthem, stating, “LSU Women’s Basketball Team skipped the National Anthem Iowa stood proud LSU just got their a** beat With the entire stadium cheering against them Season over Let this be a lesson to all players: the cringy, selfish woke athlete moment is OVER.”
Similarly, X poster Michael Singleton wrote, “People who do not support our veterans or the national anthem should try to live somewhere where people will appreciate their ignorance. We are one nation and people should not be divided by the history that has granted them their freedoms. People have fought wars on and off the battlefield, battles against communism, slavery, bigotry, race, and hate. A lot of blood has been spilled for the freedoms these basketball players take for granted. Shame on them, the school, and anyone who supports that type of behavior. You may not like something in our history and that is fine. But the freedoms are what Make America Great.”
On the other side of things, LSU head coach Kim Mulkey claimed that her team’s missing the national anthem was unintentional, saying, “Honestly, I don’t even know when the anthem was played. We kind of have a routine when (our players are) on the floor, and they come off at the 12-minute mark (prior to the game).”
In any case, the night was a great one for Caitlin Clark, a faithful Christian who was this season’s women’s basketball star. During the tense game, Clark managed to put up 41 points, including sinking 9 shots out of 20 from the three-point range. She also helped out with twelve assists and seven rebounds. Thanks to her efforts and others, Iowa advanced to the Final Four for its second consecutive season.
Clark, commenting after the game on her emotional outburst partway through the fourth quarter, said, “I think I just got hyped for a second. I was trying to be pretty calm and cool. Like, when you’re playing a team like LSU, they’re never out of the game … and that’s exactly what they did. But sometimes you get a little hype for yourself and you do things that you don’t even realize you’re doing. I think that was the only three I celebrated.”
Watch Clark celebrate after the game here:
And watch the anthem moment here:
Caitlin Clark is a committed Christian who, her high school coach says, uses her faith to glorify God. That coach, Kristin Meyer, said, “She knows that she has some talents that other people weren’t necessarily born with, and she’s just looking to maximize them not just for herself but for her teammates, and on an even bigger scope for the fans.”
Meyer continued, “It’s not just about scoring a lot of points or winning; she loves playing in front of a sold-out arena because she gets to entertain people and bring a smile to their face. For two hours she lets them have this great experience and she takes that pretty seriously, and knows that those gifts from God are an opportunity to bring joy to other people.”
Speaking in 2018, Clark said, “We get to live our faith every day. Dowling starts every day with prayer and ends every day with prayer.” Continuing, she added, This is a big reason why Dowling has such a special culture and is such a special place to go to school.”
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