Jul 20, 2024; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Team WNBA forward Angel Reese gets in position against USA Women's National Team during the WNBA All Star Game at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports Angel Reese in the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game. (Joe Camporeale/USA Today Sports.)
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There’s been a lot of conversation around WNBA fans and WNBA discourse in general lately. That particularly ticked up around Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever being eliminated from the playoffs with an 87-81 road loss to the Connecticut Sun Wednesday.

That result gave the Sun a 2-0 series victory, but also sparked controversy for actions of Fever fans in attendance. And that added to a wider recent conversation about criticisms of WNBA players from fans on social media, including racist remarks. And in the wake of that, a surprising figure has reentered the discourse.

That would be Chicago Sky rookie forward Angel Reese. Reese has long been a focus of women’s basketball discussion, first for her college rivalry with Clark while she was at LSU and Clark was at Iowa. That then continued around her pro rivalry with Clark and potential status as a rival Rookie of the Year contender, although that largely wrapped up with her season-ending wrist injury earlier this month.

In the end, Clark was unanimously given the AP’s Rookie of the Year award. The WNBA Rookie of the Year award has not been announced yet. Meanwhile, a fourth-place vote for Reese for WNBA MVP [won by A’ja Wilson] was questioned, particularly given her 39.1 percent shooting percentage from the field.

Amidst that context, Reese went in on media in a series of tweets Thursday night. That started with a quote-tweet of AA’s video of ESPN’s Andraya Carter discussing racist actions from fans. There, Reese said media “could have tried to put out this fire way before it started”:

Reese then doubled down on that with further tweets blasting media:

And Reese weighed in further on the news that her team, the Sky, had fired head coach Teresa Weatherspoon:

The cut-off text of that first tweet is “to be this “villain”. I won’t stop!!” The cut-off text of the second tweet is “and now other players in this league are dealing with & experiencing the same things. This isn’t ok at all. Anything beyond criticism about playing the game we love is wrong. I’m sorry to all the players that have/continue to experience the same things I have…. This is why I started my podcast. To take my voice back and create the narrative of who I really am. At the end of the day, I don’t want an apology nor do I think this will ever stop but something has to change.”

The cut-off text of the third tweet is “you. You had a tough job. All the crazy circumstances that we went through this year & when your back was against the wall, you always believed. I came to Chicago because of YOU. You were an unsung hero in my life. We built a relationship in a short amount of time that will last forever. I’ll never question God why he brings people in my life and takes them away from me in the capacity that I need them but i’ve always believed everyone is in your life for a reason and a season. You were the best reason & season. You didn’t deserve this but I can’t thank you enough. I love you Tspoon. @Finisher_11”

This is far from the first time Reese has spoken out about media coverage and fans. She’s taken issue with a lot of media questions and stories this year in the WNBA, and even told media “I know how y’all like to twist my words” at one point. She’s also taken particular exception to questions about her “rivalry” with Clark, saying “It’s just competition.” She’s also been fined for refusing to talk to media at times.

But it should be noted that Reese has more she’s upset about than just media coverage. In particular, she’s talked about how people have made racist and beyond comments about her on social media, including spreading fake AI-generated nude pictures of her. And there is a wider issue of racist remarks against WNBA stars, and league commissioner Cathy Engelbert recently had to walk back her own downplaying of that issue. And there were multiple reports of racist remarks and actions from fans at the Fever-Sun game Wednesday.

The firing of Weatherspoon adds to all of this. And it’s understandable why Reese has strong feelings there. And it’s notable that Weatherspoon was one of only three Black head coaches at the start of this WNBA season, down from six (half the league) two seasons before.

There are plenty of possible takes to have on all of this. Reese has said at times she has embraced the “villain” role, and her rivalry with Clark (even if she doesn’t love that term) has certainly boosted her own profile, although the extent of that and the extent of how notable she should be in her own right (she did, after all, set WNBA rebounding and double-double records this season, amongst others) can be debated. She’s also shown a strong interest in promoting her own side of the story, from taking part in a LSU NIL documentary through her comments about a broadcasting future through her own podcast, where she’s shown both a Draymond Green-style eagerness to put forth her own perspective (which, like Green’s, is often media-critical) and a willingness to welcome Clark critics like Sheryl Swoopes.

But there’s also the other side of this, where there is a clear history of unacceptable comments towards WNBA players on social media and beyond. That certainly includes Reese, and she has maybe felt the brunt of some of those more than other players thanks to media playing up this “rivalry” with Clark. And Clark herself doesn’t seem particularly bothered by Reese, and there’s a worthwhile discussion to be had on why particular fouls on Clark draw more scrutiny than those on Reese. (Bob Costas, in particular, has cited race there.) And yes, absolutely, media outlets have benefited from discussing Reese and Clark; how they’ve done that, and if that’s acceptable or not, varies by outlet, but yes, the Clark-Reese rivalry has been generally good for media.

At any rate, it’s certainly notable to see Reese being so open and outspoken on social media. And that’s maybe especially significant considering her frequently-expressed reluctance to talk to the media; she’s, at the least, providing her clear perspective this way, on everyone from Clark to Weatherspoon. And it seems likely these tweets from her will be part of further WNBA discussion cycles in the days ahead.

Correction: This piece initially stated that Reese had received a fourth-place vote for Rookie of the Year, not MVP. We regret the error.

[Angel Reese on X/Twitter]

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.

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