Angel Reese came into the WNBA with a flurry of media hype around her and she answered the bell time and again with record-setting performances on the court. However, Angel Reese has admitted that her journey hasn’t been easy and just lost one of her biggest supporters in the league after the Chicago Sky parted ways with its head coach, Teresa Weatherspoon.
The massive swell of media attention that the WNBA garnered this year was no doubt due to the incoming class of rookies that included Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, Kamilla Cardoso, Aaliyah Edwards, and others. The prevailing thought was Reese and Clark were to be mortal enemies at the professional ranks based on the fact that the two faced each other as collegiate players in what many framed as a bitter rivalry.
Reese’s confidence on and off the court has seemingly rubbed fans wrong, especially those who feel Clark was the bigger star. While it is true that Reese talked a big game, she backed it up by setting a rookie record for 15 consecutive double-double games. Clark too has had a stellar season and showed off her scoring prowess at the next level.
This divide in fandom between players is a striking one, considering Reese isn’t the first trash-talker in professional sports. Her intensity on the court drove her, and the support from her coach and teammates translated into good efforts on the court where it counts. Clark, however, has been elevated as a pure basketball player despite having struggles on the court that seemingly weren’t highlighted to the level of Reese’s shortcomings.
Reese, perhaps growing tired of the narrative that she invited the critique or wanted to take a heel turn in the league, has been active on the X platform addressing the chatter in her unapologetic fashion and promised to continue her podcasting journey.
“Y’all know i’ve been going through this for the last 2 years but was told “save the tears’ & “stop playing victim”. Y’all a little late to the party and could have tried to put out this fire way before it started….,” Reese quote tweeted on X, referring to a post by Awful Announcing with ESPN’s Andraya Carter segment on SportsCenter at the centerpiece regarding racially charged statements from fans in the stands towards players on the court.
Y’all know i’ve been going through this for the last 2 years but was told “save the tears” & “stop playing victim”. Y’all a little late to the party and could have tried to put out this fire way before it started…. https://t.co/EuMfYtzgSA
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) September 26, 2024
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Reese continued, “I’ve never in my life had privilege but I definitely know the power I have through my platform. That didn’t come overnight. I grew that on my OWN. With that being said, I will continue to use my voice in the right way & say what’s right even though it has backfired on me to be this “villain”. I won’t stop!!”
Also at the root of Reese’s current activity is her comments regarding the firing of her coach, Teresa Weatherspoon, who Reese credited for getting her this far in her rookie campaign, which ended prematurely due to a hand injury.
I’m heartbroken. I’m literally lost for words knowing what this woman meant to me in such a pivotal point in my life. She was the only person that believed in me. The one that trusted me. Many don’t even know what it’s like to be a black women in sports when nobody believes in you,” Reese wrote on X.
She continued, “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”
Anytime Angel Reese decides to take to social media, her detractors come out in droves to discredit her game, apply offensive commentary, and flat-out divisiveness becomes the order of the day. We’re sharing some of Angel Reese’s X replies below. Keep scrolling to see replies under her name, which is currently trending on X as well.
For the past 2 years, the media has benefited from my pain & me being villainized to create a narrative. They allowed this. This was beneficial to them. I sometimes share my experiences of things that have happened to me but I’ve also allowed this to happen to me for way too long…
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) September 27, 2024
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Photo: Patrick McDermott / Getty
1. Protected?
3. Basically.
4. This is kind of facts though.
6. People say things in the heat of battle. Some people just sit online all day being jerks. Is what it is.
7. Why tho?
8. (Some) Sports fans are truly the toxic ones.
9. These people don’t know her.
10. Couldn’t wait to kick her back in.
