WNBA: Ariel Atkins said all the right things in defending Angel Reese

It’s exhausting to enumerate all the BS Angel Reese deals with on a daily basis.

On too many occasions, some contrived Reese-related “controversy” emerges, requiring our Zachary Draves to defend Reese for being, as he has put it, a young Black woman who “exudes an unapologetic confidence that is uncompromising.”

So, imagine how exhausting it must be for Reese and her teammates. On Tuesday night, Ariel Atkins had had enough, stepping in when Reese was asked a non-basketball question in the postgame press conference following the Chicago Sky’s loss to the New York Liberty.

Atkins asserted:

I’m sorry, can I? Can I say something This is a 23-year-old kid. And the amount of crap that she gets on a day-to-day, she still shows up. So, whatever questions y’all got about our team, basketball-wise, we appreciate it. But all the other nonsense, like, it’s irrelevant. We’re here to play basketball and do what we do.

We’re having a hard time right now, at the end of the day. This is a 23-year-old kid who handles herself with grace. Her crown is heavy. So whatever else, like, y’all want to come at her for the way that she acts, she has to build the wall. She has to have the wall. Because if she doesn’t, people will break her down. Not only just because of the way she looks, but it’s because of the way she carries herself. She doesn’t just walk around and act like, “Oh, I’m this, I’m that.” No, she knows who she is and we ain’t gonna break her down for that. So whatever other questions y’all got, like, I’m hoping it’s just about basketball, maybe a box score question, but the kids’ crown is heavy. Like, respect that.

No, not a lot is going right for the Sky.

They’re 2-6, having been outscored by 108 points on the season after Tuesday’s 19-point loss to the Liberty. New head coach Tyler Marsh has yet to find the fix on either end of the floor, as the team ranks 12th in both offensive and defensive rating. Reese herself has started the season in a bit of a sophomore slump, striving to expand her offensive game as she adjusts to new teammates. Atkins, who the Sky acquired during the offseason in exchange for the No. 3 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, has had an uneven start to her Chicago tenure. The recent loss of Courtney Vandersloot to a season-ending ACL injury has put another obstacle in Chicago’s path to success.

Atkins’ impromptu defense of Reese, however, suggests Chicago is going to be okay. The wins might not come as often as hoped. The expectations might need to be lowered. But, this team can represent what’s best about the WNBA.

It’s a league where young women, many of whom bear multiple identities that have caused them to be marginalized, scrutinized and demonized by dominant society, will be embraced, uplifted and defended for choosing to defy any limitations placed on them, and those who try to tear them down will not be tolerated. Atkins exemplified that on ethos on Tuesday.