Angel Reese Signed a $1.4 Million NIL to Pose for the SI Swimsuit Issue. But We're Still Waiting to Hear from the People Who Dragged Olivia Dunne for Doing the Exact Same Thing.
Sincerest congratulations are in order for Angel Reese joining Olivia Dunne as the first college athletes to ever grace the pages of the SI Swimsuit Issue. We might all be wondering how this once-important institution still manages to stay relevant when we're decades into an age where models can bring their photos directly to the consumer, reach much broader audiences in an instant, and monetize them in a way where all the money goes directly to them. But I guess people sitting in the waiting room at Jiffy Lube need something to read to avoid making eye contact, so the printed page hasn't gone extinct yet. And if SI is going to keep cranking these out every year, more power to these two. Doing pioneering work in the field of female collegians getting paid to model swimwear. An opportunity that was denied to generations of their forebears. Dunne and now Reese are shattering that glass ceiling so that the athletes that come after will benefit. That's a pure good.
And has so often been the case when strong, confident, independent women empower themselves in a way that threatens the status quo, people who benefited from the old, oppressive way of doing things feel threatened. And they push back. In sometimes cruel ways.
It certainly happened when Dunne announced her appearance in the magazine. As Hubbs pointed out, first from Stanford basketball coach Tara VanDerveer:
'I guess sometimes we have this swinging pendulum, where we maybe take two steps forward, and then we take a step back,' she said. 'We're fighting for all the opportunities to compete, to play, to have resources, to have facilities, to have coaches, and all the things that go with Olympic-caliber athletics.' (Daily Mail)'This is a step back,' she added.
Then in the form of a savage hit piece from the NY Times:
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Though like the Girl Boss she is, Dunne not only didn't back down, she did a triple somersault with a half-twist on the Times. And stuck the landing:
Still, given Reese's announcement, it's only a matter of time before the Women's College Athletics Industrial Complex and Big Journo come after her. Like apex predators who sense weakness, they'll encircle her like they did Dunne and the hunt will be on. After all, the two are tainting the pride, tradition and integrity of their sports in the exact same way. So the attack is inevitable, right?
Wrong.
For some reason, it's been quiet out there. As they say in old war movies, too quiet.
Do a search on the Stanford coach who talked about Livvy Dunne like she's bringing The Handmaid's Tale to life to see what she has to say about Angel Reese betraying her gender, and you get the rubber chicken:
Search for the NY Times' top mention of Angel Reese, and you find it's been over a month since their last reference. And then, she was a feminist icon, teaching those pesky men what being a winner is all about:
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But now that Reese has joined the ranks of attractive, physically fit adult women using the images of their athletic bodies to make a financial killing?
It's Run Silent, Run Deep. Nothing to see here, folks. All is well.
The good news is that the critics of women using their good looks to get rich fired all their rounds at Dunne and then threw the empty gun at her. And didn't leave a scratch. So Reese is free to go on, make that fortune and have fun in her new modeling career. Because these two will be insanely wealthy very soon and for a long time to come. While the stupid Puritans who criticized them will be exposed as hypocrites forever.