Angel Reese, 2 other Chicago Sky stars skip media exit interviews

Yet another high-profile WNBA team is limiting its customary end-of-season media availability, as the Chicago Sky chose to hold Angel Reese and two other star players back from previously planned press conferences.

The WNBA season ended eight days ago, and according to Annie Costabile of Front Office Sports, the Sky had previously announced that Reese and her veteran teammates, Courtney Vandersloot and Ariel Atkins, would address reporters “at a later date.” Then on Monday morning, the organization released a statement announcing that the trio of Sky stars would not, in fact, be available.

The decision comes on the heels of a suspension for Reese, who earlier this month made thinly veiled threats to a local newspaper that she could request a trade out of Chicago. In the same Chicago Tribune story, Reese also directly addressed Vandersloot, a significant offseason acquisition who made her return to the Sky after winning a championship with New York last year. After Vandersloot tore her ACL early in the season, Reese questioned Chicago’s decision to sign her and called for the team to prioritize younger star talent.

When the Tribune story was published, Reese was suspended by the Sky for the first half of the following game. Citing a back injury, however, Reese never retook the court, missing the final four games of the year.

The No. 7 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, Reese arrived in the league with a considerable fanbase and high expectations. The Sky have long lagged behind other WNBA franchises in terms of investment from ownership, with many of the 2021 championship team members departing soon after, raising questions about the team’s amenities.

Last offseason, they acquired Vandersloot and 2019 WNBA champion wing Atkins in hopes of a postseason berth. Instead, despite Reese taking a step forward in Year Two, Chicago regressed and wound up back in the draft lottery.

With a potential trade request on the docket, an unresolved suspension, and friction among teammates, Sky reporters certainly had plenty to ask the star players about after the season. Instead, Reese, Vandersloot, Atkins, and the Sky leave media and fans in the dark as they head into a WNBA winter that will see significant changes around the league ahead of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and another expansion team joining the league.

Elsewhere, the New York Liberty also chose not to participate in end-of-season media availability with reporters. This led to an awkward interaction over the weekend in Phoenix, as the Liberty lost in the first round of the playoffs on the road, and a New York Post reporter asked star player Breanna Stewart at the podium whether she would vouch for head coach Sandy Brondello to return in 2026.

WNBA teams are not required to conduct “exit interviews” with reporters, but it is a custom for players to decompress and give fans and reporters their thoughts on the season and what comes next.

Let it serve as yet another reminder that, as complex and frustrating as press conferences may be for players and coaches, the cost of nixing media access altogether is almost always worse. Now, the Sky head into the offseason silently amid continued unflattering rumors.