As controversy continues to mar the rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, Skip Bayless believes jealousy might be the culprit.
Clark was on the receiving end of another hard foul during Sunday’s WNBA matchup between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever. Two weeks ago, it was Chennedy Carter hip-checking Clark to the ground as Reese applauded the foul from the bench. And Sunday afternoon, Reese was called for a flagrant foul after inadvertently swiping Clark across the head while attempting to block a layup attempt.
After the game, Reese called the foul “a basketball play,” noting she was going for the ball. She defended herself further by claiming, “Some people get a special whistle.” After hearing her blame the flagrant foul on the refs, Skip Bayless surmised Reese might have a feeling of jealousy towards Clark.
Skip Bayless on Angel Reese:
“I listen to her postgames and yeah, she’s become the villain…Her postgames reek a little bit of jealousy and bitterness. That’s how it comes across to me.” pic.twitter.com/JqGbnnegTr— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 17, 2024
“Now I listen to her postgame, and yeah, she’s become the villain,” Bayless said of Reese. “Her postgames reek a little bit of jealousy and bitterness. That’s how it comes across to me. But I don’t know; they’re still too young for me to know for sure where they’re going to stand.”
“She’s gonna have to accept the fact that when her team on Friday night went to play the Washington Mystics, they kept it in the little gym,” Bayless continued of Reese. “The little building which holds 4,200 and that’s what they drew. And when Caitlin went there a couple of weeks ago to play the Mystics, who are the worst team in the league, they moved it to the big gym. They moved it to the big arena…and they sold 20,333 seats. Angel drew 4,000, basically, and Caitlin drew 20,000. That’s just a fact.”
After Clark defended herself from the flagrant foul call and alleged she benefitted from a quick whistle, she noted, “Y’all going to play that clip 20 times before Monday,” referring to the media, an estimate that was grossly lowballed.
The Chennedy Carter foul on Clark was egregious and worthy of discussion. Reese’s foul on Clark was not. It was a hard foul, but she was going for the ball, and every hard foul on Clark should not need to be overanalyzed.
“The point is, all of her postgames – and again, she’s playing the villain role,” Bayless said of Reese. “It just comes off as so negative. ‘You guys.’ You guys, like the media is against her. I don’t think the media is against her.”
Bayless is right about Reese playing the villain. But it’s ultimately a good thing for the WNBA to see its most popular player have a villain to compete against. The established rivalry between Clark and Reese is one that should continue to see the WNBA reach new heights in popularity for the next decade. With both players willing to embrace the rivalry, there doesn’t really seem to be a need for jealousy or bitterness.
