Last season, as Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark prepared to make her WNBA debut during a preseason game against the Dallas Wings, the league advertised a free stream of the game on its social channels. The decision didn’t sit well with Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, who took issue with the fact that the WNBA was advertising the Fever game, but not any of the league’s other preseason action.
Reeve also happened to coach last year’s USA Women’s Basketball team at the Paris Olympics. Thus, she was in charge of roster decisions for the team. Clark was controversially left off the roster, despite a strong rookie season and stardom that eclipsed every other player in the league.
Around that time, USA Today writer Christine Brennan, author of the forthcoming book “On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women’s Sports,” claimed that Reeve played a role in Clark’s Olympic snub, resurfacing the coach’s social media posts singling Clark out.
Here are Cheryl Reeve’s May 3 posts on X referencing and singling out Caitlin Clark. I have been trying since Sunday to ask her why she posted anything about a candidate for the US Olympic team during the selection process. So far, no luck getting any answers. pic.twitter.com/vRjZqumo5d
— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) June 13, 2024
Earlier this week, Brennan doubled down on that belief. Appearing on The Adam Gold Show on 99.9 The Fan in Raleigh, North Carolina, Brennan said Reeve displayed, “stunningly bad behavior,” singling out Clark in her posts. “How on earth is that okay with the Olympic and Paralympic Committee and USA basketball, that its coach is actively tweeting and going on social media about someone who is in the selection pool?” Brennan asked.
Just days later, Reeve sharply disputed Brennan’s version of events. Appearing on FanDuel Sports Network’s Golic & Golic, Reeve said, “What [Brennan] wrote is fiction. And if she were paying attention, one of the things I have done for years is hold the league accountable for their missteps, mishaps, their lack of representation of all teams.”
“What she wrote is fiction.”
Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve isn’t holding back in response to negative comments made by Christine Brennan. pic.twitter.com/NKVVBGyxb3
— FanDuel Sports Network (@FanDuelSN) June 19, 2025
“So that particular situation had nothing to do with Caitlin Clark,” Reeve continued. “It had everything to do with a WNBA social media post that promoted one preseason game and not all preseason games. And so I simply said that, by the way, the Minnesota Lynx are playing the Chicago Sky.
“If Christine Brennan were being thorough and a legitimate reporter in this situation, she would have gotten full context. But it didn’t fit the narrative. Christine Brennan likes to have a villain in her storytelling. I am Christine Brennan’s villain, that’s the sword she’s going to die on.”
Brennan has been the center of numerous controversies surrounding Caitlin Clark at this point. Most recently, the writer took heat for comments she made about the WNBA’s officiating after a scuffle involving the Fever star. Last season, the WNBPA called for Brennan’s press credentials to be revoked after a line of questioning she took following a similar incident involving Clark.
Reeve seems to be siding with the players and questioning Brennan’s motives as a journalist.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.