![]() How dare Black women speak truth to power and love themselves? How dare they not follow the unspoken rule–shut up and play-those "rules" change when Black women are involved in any form of resistance. Her level of self-love from a Black woman confounds and enrages many people. The "thing" about Reese she clearly loves herself unapologetically and is not easily rattled she uses her power to go above the verbal attacks she receives and puts people in their place. Yet, when a Baltimore native, known for playing with her whole body - her words included - trash talks, descriptions of Reese are antagonistic, questioning her character and sportsmanship. It's often featured in postgame commentary by analysts and writers as "taunting" and "improvisational brilliance." It's not for everyone, and not all can do it well. Chris Paul, LeBron James, Draymond Green, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and many others have participated in trash-talking throughout their careers. It is the norm in boxing, where press conferences are created to generate hype before matches. Larry Bird, too, was known for verbally challenging his opponents. ![]() However, the interpretation and who is allowed to do it seem problematic. The now-viral clip of Caitlin Clark gesturing similar hand waving demonstrates that trash talk is universal. When Black women are confident in themselves and articulate it in a way unacceptable to gendered decorum standards, they are shunned and told to focus solely on their performance. Yes, Richardson faced much backlash from her commentary and the now-deleted Instagram post, but the impact is the same.
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