In the world of sports, actions on the field can often spark as much conversation as the gameplay itself. LSU women's basketball star Angel Reese recently brought to light a disparity in the portrayal of similar celebratory moves by two athletes, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant, by Barstool Sports.

The incident in question revolves around a dance move. Ja Morant, the Grizzlies star, performed a dance after a decisive dunk during a game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Dec. 26. This move was interpreted by Barstool Sports as “Ja spraying imaginary bullets into section 113 after slam,” a jab linked to Morant's previous 25-game suspension at the start of the 2023-24 season, which was related to his use of firearms in social media posts. Morant, however, clarified on social media that his dance was the “Rock ya hips” move, made popular by the LSU football team.

In a contrasting depiction, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers exhibited the same dance to celebrate a touchdown during the Sugar Bowl game against Washington on Jan. 1. The response from Barstool Sports to Ewers' identical dance was markedly different, describing it simply as “Quinn Ewers is having fun.”

Angel Reese, no stranger to scrutiny for her on-court actions, highlighted this double standard. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, she compared the two reactions of Barstool Sports, with a short and sweet comment, “lol I've seen this before….”, as reported by Patrick Magee of Nola.com.

Reese herself experienced similar treatment when she taunted Iowa women's basketball star Caitlin Clark with the “You can't see me” hand gesture during the NCAA title game, a move Clark had used earlier in the NCAA Tournament. The backlash she faced was later tempered by Clark's support, who said that common trash-talking didn't warrant such heat.