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With additional focus on the racism shown by some WNBA fans during the regular season and the league’s playoffs, Chicago Sky star Angel Reese called out the media for its role in the entire situation.
Reese responded to a conversation about the racist slurs some players have faced and said she has “been going through this for the last two years.” She also said the media has “benefited from my pain” in order “to create a narrative.”
The high-profile rookie also explained that she started her podcast “to take my voice back” and said that “something has to change.”
Angel Reese @Reese10Angel
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
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
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…
Her comments come after Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas specifically called out some Indiana Fever fans for their racism after the first-round series between the two teams.
“In my 11-year career, I’ve never experienced the racial comments from the Indiana Fever fan base. It’s unacceptable, honestly,” Thomas said, per ESPN’s Andrea Adelson. “There’s no place for it. We’ve been professional throughout the whole entire thing, but I’ve never been called the things that I’ve been called on social media.
“Basketball is headed in a great direction, but we don’t want fans that are going to degrade us and call us racial names. I mean, we already see what’s happening in the world and what we have to deal with in that aspect. And we come to play basketball for our job and it’s fun, but we don’t want to go to work every day and have social media blown up over things like that. It’s uncalled for. Something needs to be done, whether it’s them checking their fans or this league checking, there’s no time for it anymore.”
Sun guard DiJonai Carrington also posted a screenshot of the racist and threatening message she received on social media.
With all that as a backdrop, the WNBA released a statement Wednesday that said, in part, it “will not tolerate racist, derogatory, or threatening comments made about players, teams, and anyone affiliated with the league.”
The WNBA saw record ratings this season and skyrocketed in popularity.
Some of that popularity was inspired by the high-profile rookie class that notably included Reese and Caitlin Clark. They were connected to each other well before they arrived in the WNBA after Iowa and LSU faced each other in the 2023 national championship game and again in the 2024 Elite Eight.
While many assumed there’s a rivalry between Clark and Reese, they have each publicly praised each other amid the additional attention they have received.
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