ESPN analyst Andraya Carter speaks out on $1.8M NIL-valued Angel Reese's "death threat" comments following LSU's Elite Eight loss: "It's sad to me"

LSU forward Angel Reese recorded double-double No. 27 during the Tigers' narrow 94-87 Elite Eight loss to Caitlin Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes, which ended her season and possibly her college basketball career.

Reese tallied 17 points, grabbed 20 rebounds, and dished out 4 assists despite shooting only 33.3% from the field. However, she reinjured her ankle after falling into a stand of cameras. Her ankle had been bothering her since the SEC tournament final against South Carolina.

During an emotional postgame news conference, she revealed the difficulties that she has faced ever since she led the Tigers to a national championship win last year.

“I've been through so much,” she said. “I've seen so much. I've been attacked so many times, death threats, I've been sexualized, I've been threatened, I've been so many things, and I've stood strong every single time.”

ESPN analyst Andraya Carter was sympathetic to the $1.8 million NIL-valued Reese's (as per On3) comments.

"It's sad to me to have a player of that level of greatness have to deal with so much," Carter said. "We have to reach a point and it should start with the college kids where we are judging them by their performance on the court," Carter said.

Angel Reese deals with the ugly side of fame

Angel Reese has courted controversy ever since she made John Cena's 'you can't see me' gesture aimed towards Caitlin Clark during the pair's national championship game meeting last year.

Since then, her life has been under the microscope with every aspect minutely monitored and all her actions scrutinized.

Even as the lucrative endorsements rolled in, Angel Reese became one of the most talked-about student-athletes, but not always in a positive manner, as she described after the loss to Iowa.

During her Iowa postgame news conference, Reese revealed the timeline of the abuse that she has faced.

“All this has happened since I won the national championship,” Angel Reese said.

“And it sucks, but I still wouldn't change anything, and I would still sit here and say I'm unapologetically me. I'm going to always leave that mark and be who I am and stand on that.”

Angel Reese has yet to choose her future. She is still eligible for another year of college basketball rather than declaring for the 2024 WNBA Draft.