How did Shaquille O'Neal defend Angel Reese from Dave Portnoy's criticism?

Angel Reese has been criticized a lot over the past two days. The LSU Tigers forward won the national championship on Sunday, but some of her actions have ruined her image to some.

Many basketball fans were upset when Reese taunted Iowa star and tournament darling Caitlin Clark in the final minute of the national championship game, a 102-85 LSU victory. Some critics even called her slurs.

However, the Tigers forward has many fans who stepped in to defend her. Shaquille O'Neal, a basketball legend, four-time NBA champion and a proud LSU alumnus, also defended Reese on Twitter.

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Shaquille O'Neal did not like the criticism Angel Reese got, especially not from David Portnoy

During the closing minute of the matchup against the Iowa Hawkeyes, Angel Reese taunted Caitlin Clark. The LSU Tigers forward mocked Clark for not winning the championship ring and also made fun of her "You Can't See Me" celebration.

While Clark didn't mind this much, her fans certainly did. Many of them attacked Reese and called her bad names. This includes David Portnoy, who called the 6-foot-3 forward a "classless piece of s**t."

Shaquille O'Neal apparently did not like this and responded to Portnoy.

It's important to note that Shaq also attended LSU. He spent three seasons with the Tigers, averaging 21.6 points, 13.5 rebounds and 4.6 blocks per game. He was inducted into the LSU Hall of Fame and his 900-pound statue is located in front of the team's practice facility.

Portnoy, who is best known for founding Barstool Sports, hasn't responded to the basketball legend yet. However, he has defended his criticism of Reese and believes that her behavior during the game was unacceptable.

You may be interested in reading: "Going too far with that unsportsmanlike behavior" - Picture of Angel Reese flipping off fan goes viral amid Caitlin Clark taunt backlash

The Tigers forward had a fantastic game against the Hawkeyes, recording a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The first-team All-American also added five assists, three steals and a block to her stat line.

While Reese may have done too much by taunting her opponent, calling her disrespectful names is not acceptable, especially when it comes from prominent media figures like Portnoy.

Reese was criticized for taunting Clark at the end of the game (Image via Getty Images)

It appears that Shaquille O'Neal is quite invested in women's basketball. (His daughter, Amirah O'Neal, played at LSU in 2020-21 before transferring to Texas Southern. His son, Shareef O'Neal also played at LSU.) He defended Reese against former ESPN anchor Keith Olbermann, who called the LSU Tigers star an idiot.

"Shut your dumb a** up, leave Angel Reese alone," O'Neal tweeted in the star player's defense.

You may be interested in reading: "Why are we taking it to that level?" - Jay Williams slams Dave Portnoy for comments against Angel Reese after championship win

Reese is coming off one of her biggest games and was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player after averaging 21.3 points and 15.2 rebounds per game during it.