Was Angel Reese’s now-deleted tweet an attack on Caitlin Clark? originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky handed the New York Liberty their first loss of the season on Thursday in a 90-81 win over head coach Teresa Weatherspoon’s former team.
The atmosphere was high after the big win and Reese took to social media to rejoice in the team’s early season success.
Needless to say, the message was aimed at Caitlin Clark, the University of Iowa phenom drafted by the Indiana Fever this year. The Fever is 0-5 this season, and while Clark leads all rookies in points per game with 17.8, she also leads the entire league in turnovers with 5.8. Her team’s inability to win has drawn criticism from all corners, including “The View” cohost Sunny Hostin, who said Clark’s extreme popularity is tied to “white privilege” and “quite privilege.”
Amid the ongoing criticism, some big stars have come to Clark’s defense, namely LeBron James and Charles Barkley.
“The one thing I like that she brings to her sport: more people wanting to watch,” James said on his “Mind the Game” podcast with JJ Reddick. “More people want to get involved. … Don’t get it twisted, don’t get it ruined. Caitlin Clark is the reason why a lot of great things are going to happen for the WNBA.”
Barkley called Clark’s haters “petty” and said the rest of the league should thank her “for getting you (expletive) private charters,” along with more money and visibility.
The capitalization of the word “win” combined with the recent discourse certainly indicates that this is a bull’s-eye for Clark. We may never know for sure. Reese deleted the post shortly afterwards.
Of course, deleting the post did nothing to stop the controversial discussion surrounding Clark’s unprecedented stardom, with nasty comments being thrown at both women in response to Reese’s deleted post.
On the court, Reese is off to a great start to the season, averaging 12 points per game (second most among rookies) and 8.7 rebounds per game (most among rookies).
She has also made headlines off the court. Reese has used her massive platform to address the WNBA’s handling of team charters, as well as Connecticut Sun rookie Nika Muhl’s complicated visa situation. And did we mention she attended the Met Gala?
There’s no doubt that Reese is cooking up drama that will spark fan dialogue and some media outlets are taking it way too seriously.
The objective takeaway? Grab your popcorn and your league pass, because the WNBA is official TV you can’t miss.
