For the second time this season, Angel Reese’s Chicago Sky team faced off against Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever. The highly-anticipated rematch lived up to the hype as both teams fought hard until the end, with the Fever edging out the Sky 88-83.
However, a normal basketball play became more fodder for cultural wars after Reese fouled Clark.
During the play, Clark drove to the basket and attempted a lay-up. As Reese challenged the shot, she swiped after the ball and hit Clark in the head who fell to the ground. The result was a flagrant 1 technical foul and Reese was allowed to remain in the game. In the NBA, it’s a foul that happens every game without much discourse or backlash.
But Reese’s foul on Clark turned into another opportunity for some social media users to spew hatred and racism towards the Sky’s standout rookie.
“Angel Reese should be suspended. Period. Not good for the game,” former USC quarterback Matt Leinart tweeted. Leinart was eventually destroyed online through comments for his myopic take on a foul that occurs in nearly every basketball game, including high school level and street ball.
Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy called Reese one of the “dirtiest players in the game.”
Clay Travis, who has made a career out of race-baiting, took things a step further by tweeting, “Angel Reese takes total swing at Caitlin Clark’s head, gets flagrant foul. They hate Clark because she’s white.”
The comments under Travis’ post is filled with like-minded individuals who used the opportunity to show off their racist mindsets with vulgar words aimed at Reese.
Reese and Clark have indeed fueled more interest into the WNBA. However, their on-court rivalry continues to serve as evidence of the ongoing racial divide in America. Most are people who haven’t watched a second of WNBA basketball before this season and are using both players as a way to express hatred.
Following the game, both Reese and Clark shared that the play was just apart of basketball.
“It’s a basketball play, I can’t control the refs,” Angel said. “They affected the game a lot tonight. … I’m always going for the ball. But y’all going to play that clip 20 times before Monday.”
Clark echoed Reese’s sentiments about the play.
“I think it’s just the emotion and the passion that we play with,” Clark said. “I think people love to see that. And I think that’s maybe not something that was always appreciated in women’s sports, and it should be. I think that’s what makes it fun. We’re competitors. That’s the way the game should be. It’s going to get a little feisty. It’s going to get physical. But at the end of the day, both teams are just trying to win.”
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