Hailey Van Lith said the media and public got it all wrong on Caitlin Clark’s “you can’t see me” gesture during their Elite Eight battle.
When the Iowa Hawkeyes met the Louisville Cardinals in the 2023 women’s basketball NCAA Tournament, there were plenty of storylines and fireworks that arose from Iowa’s 97-83 win that sent them to the Final Four.
Arguably, the main storyline was Caitlin Clark’s “you can’t see me” hand gesture that the media portrayed as a shot at former Louisville, now LSU Tigers guard Hailey Van Lith.
Van Lith spoke about the moment with NBA reporter Taylor Rooks. As it turns out, the national media saw the gesture and ran with it despite not knowing any of the background. Van Lith spoke about her and Clark’s relationship postgame, and how the story is most definitely not as it appeared.
“It was actually hilarious because right after the game I texted her and I was like, ‘The media is dumb.’ I’m sorry, you guys have no idea. They just make stuff up and then they just put it all over the internet and everyone thinks it’s true. Like, it’s just hilarious.
“We were laughing about it because she did it to her strength coach. She didn’t do it to anyone on our team, especially me. Definitely not toward me. She did it to her strength coach and it wasn’t even in a moment where I didn’t even see it in the game. I was probably dribbling the ball up the court after she just hit a 3 in our face. It’s just funny how camera angles and perceptions are skewed through the media, but it was just hilarious. We laughed about it after. I don’t even remember, I didn’t even see it happen, so my perception. … I don’t even have one because I didn’t even know it happened until I saw it over Instagram later,” Van Lith said of the viral sequence.
The narrative ratcheted up even more when LSU’s Angel Reese seemingly returned the favor to Caitlin Clark with a “you can’t see me” gesture in the waning seconds of LSU’s 102-85 victory over the Hawkeyes in the national championship game. This sparked a national discussion that there was animosity in women’s basketball.
Some loved the perceived payback from Reese while others attacked her return gesture to Clark. As it turns out, the entire thing was blown out of proportion from the get-go.
“People have speculated and said it on social media, ‘Was it to Hailey?’ And I’ve just never answered because who cares? This is my first time. I’m clearing it up, guys. Caitlin Clark did not do this to me, and if she did that would’ve been hilarious and we would’ve laughed about it, too. It’s not that serious,” Van Lith said.
Nonetheless, Van Lith has since transferred to LSU and is teaming with Reese to form one of the strongest duos in women’s college basketball. Clark returns for another year with most of her supporting cast by her side.
Could we get lucky enough to see these three stars meet up in a postseason battle once again?
[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=46]
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.
