'Gained my respect': NBA legend Paul Pierce shocked 'white girl in Iowa' Caitlin Clark beat a 'bunch of black girls' from LSU

NBA Hall of Famer Paul Pierce expressed his shock that Iowa's Caitlin Clark was able to beat a "bunch of black girls" from Louisiana State University.

Pierce was speaking on FS1's "Undisputed" with NFL legend Keyshawn Johnson and host Skip Bayless when he reacted to Iowa's historic win over LSU during the NCAA women's basketball tournament.

Clark is now viewed as one of the best female basketball players of all time and has recorded the most points in NCAA women's basketball history. The player has had a rivalry with LSU's Angel Reese leading up to their game in the Elite Eight, the quarterfinals of the tournament.

After Iowa won 94-87, Pierce was in awe that Clark, a white woman, was able to beat black women.

"We saw a white girl in Iowa do it to a bunch of Black girls…that gained my respect," he told his cohosts. "That gained my respect! That’s like, oh she didn’t do this to some other little white girls that were over in Colorado or wherever. She did it to some girls from LSU who we thought were some dogs!"

Pierce added that Iowa took LSU and "put 'em on their knee and spanked them. I didn’t expect that."

The LSU team garnered attention for all the wrong reasons following their disappointing loss.

Fans quickly realized that LSU wasn't present during the national anthem after video circulated showing only the Iowa players present on the court, holding hands.

LSU coach Kim Mulkey explained that the move wasn't intentional and claimed she didn't know when the Star-Spangled Banner would be performed.

"Honestly, I don't even know when the anthem was played," Mulkey said in the post-game press conference. "We kind of have a routine when they’re on the floor and they come off at the 12-minute mark. I don't know, we come in and we do our pregame stuff. I'm sorry, listen, that’s nothing intentionally done."

LSU star Reese had her own controversial segment during the press conference and detailed how she has felt abused online and hasn't been able to stand up for herself.

"I don't really get to stand up for myself. I have great teammates, I have a great support system, I have my hometown, I have my family that stands up for me," she began.

"I don't really get to speak out on things because I just try to ignore. I just try to stand strong. I've been through so much, I've seen so much, I've been attacked so many times. Death threats, I've been sexualized, I've been threatened...I'm still a human. All this has happened since I won the national championship, and I said the other day, I haven't been happy since then," she added.

Interestingly enough, minutes earlier, teammate Hailey Van Lith said that media and online criticisms do not affect Reese's psyche.

"Y'all do not get to her. Let me say it again. Y'all do not get to Angel Reese. 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," Van Lith declared.

While it is obvious that threats of physical violence are unwarranted, Reese's claims of being sexualized are indeed strange given that she posed for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition in 2023.

It is equally strange given that after LSU's win in the previous round of the NCAA tournament, Reese spoke about how much she enjoyed 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," she said, according to Outkick.

Reese still noted that she is "unapologetically" herself, with 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."

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