LSU superstar Angel Reese has had a historic year, leading the Tigers to their first national championship and increasing the visibility of women’s basketball alongside her rival, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark.
With the spotlight firmly on Reese, fans have noticed that she has an unusual uniform with one long legging covering her left leg while the other remains bare. So, why does Angel Reese wear her uniform like that?
Why does Angel Reese wear her shorts like that?
Angel Reese explained that she has two reasons why she wears her shorts like that.
The first one is to cover up a scar due to an injury where she had a Jones fracture. A metal rod was inserted into her left leg during her freshman year at Maryland and she wears the legging to cover the scar.
According to an interview with Nola, the second reason is to honor her basketball idols who also do the same.
“I had surgery two years ago on my shin. I have a rod in my leg. Many people don’t know that. I cover the scar for one, then my two players that I really admire, Te’a Cooper and A’ja Wilson, they also wear it, too,” Reese said. “So it’s swag. But I’ve used it to cover my scar.”
This leg sleeve and short-shorts combo by LSU's Angel Reese fuckin owns #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/IS2ZS08AzA
— Colin Bartolome, 🥉 (@CPColin)
March 20, 2023
The controversy around Angel Reese
After the highs of last season, much was expected of the LSU Tigers and especially Reese as the leader of coach Kim Mulkey’s team.
The Tigers were at the end of a shocking upset against the Colorado Buffaloes, marking the first time in over 28 years that the team ranked No. 1 lost in their season-opener.
After the game, Kim Mulkey severely criticized several senior player’s attitudes, including Reese.
“I’m disappointed and surprised in some individual players that I thought would just be tougher and have a little fight and leadership about them. But I knew what we faced. You live with just a tough night offensively,” Mulkey said.”What I don’t live with is (lack of) guts and fight and physical play. You’ve got that dog in you, and I thought we didn’t have that tonight.”
Reese was benched for the entire second half against Kent State, which set tongues wagging. She was absent in LSU’s clash against Southeastern Louisiana.
Reese’s mother, Angel Reese Webb and teammate, Flau’jae Johnson’s mother, Kia Brooks also got into a verbal exchange on social media, dragging their daughters into the matter.
It hasn’t been the season Reese hoped for, and the campaign threatens to be overwhelmed by her off-court issues.
