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WNBA star Angel Reese opened up on her fear of the media and claimed she would rather just pay a fine than speak with reporters.
The Chicago Sky player and archrival of Caitlin Clark spoke about her thoughts on interacting with the media in the latest episode of her podcast “Unapologetically Angel,” this week.
“Even before the game, I’m terrified of what the media is about to ask. Because it could be the nicest question, but it’s going to get flipped or put into a different light or a different perspective. It’s like, ‘Are you here intentionally to start a mess, or are you intentionally here to ask a question?’ And it’s really tough for me in the media. Like, I don’t want to do an interview with anybody,” Reese said.
“Seriously, I’d rather take the fine sometimes than talking to the media because it always gets flipped. And I think that’s where media has gotten these days. You could literally post ‘the sky is blue,’ and Angel said, ‘It’s too dark.’ Stuff like that, you know. So, I think, it’s just, for me, the media is really scary.”
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The Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese heads to the locker room after being ejected from a game against the New York Liberty June 4, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Reese has been the subject of intense media attention dating back to the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball national championship game, when her LSU Tigers beat Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes, and Reese taunted Clark by pointing to her ring finger at the end of the game.
Reese has become arguably the most controversial figure in women’s basketball since then. Many of Reese’s quotes and statements have often been at the center of controversy in the sport.
Toward the end of the 2025 WNBA season in September, Reese prompted backlash for comments made to a Chicago Tribune reporter, in which the star called out her team for a last-place finish and 10-34 record.
“I’m not settling for the same s— we did this year,” Reese told The Chicago Tribune. “We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That’s a non-negotiable for me. I’m willing and wanting to play with the best. And however I can help to get the best here, that’s what I’m going to do this offseason. So, it’s going to be very, very important this offseason to make sure we attract the best of the best because we can’t settle for what we have this year.
“I am very vocal about what we need and what I want. I’d like to be here for my career, but if things don’t pan out, obviously I might have to move in a different direction and do what’s best for me. But while I am here, I’m going to try to stay open-minded about what I have here and maximize that as much as I can.”
Reese later apologized for the comments but claims the quotes were taken out of context.
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“I probably am frustrated [with] myself right now,” Reese said at a postgame news conference Sept. 4. “I think the language is taken out of context. I really didn’t intentionally mean to put down my teammates because they’ve been through this with me throughout the whole year. They’ve busted their ass, just like I’ve busted my ass. They’ve showed up for me through thick and thin and in the locker room when nobody could see anything.
“So, I want to apologize to my teammates, which I already have about the article and how it was misconstrued about what was said. And I just have to be better with my language. Because I know it’s not the message, it’s the messenger. And understanding what I say can be taken any kind of way. So, I just have to really be better and grow from this.”
Reese was then suspended for the first half of a game later that week for “statements detrimental to the team.”
In May, Reese was at the center of a WNBA investigation into “hateful” comments made against her during the Sky’s season opener against Clark’s Connecticut Fever.
Reese was asked if she was able to provide the WNBA with details about the incident. She did not offer specifics on whether she had done so, saying, “That’s not a me question.” She also did not reveal what type of comments were made or any other specifics about what prompted the investigation.
However, moments earlier, in that same news conference with reporters, Reese said she was receiving widespread support from across the league because of the alleged incident.
“Obviously, there’s no place in this league for that,” Reese said at that time. “I think the WNBA and our team and our organization has done a great job supporting me. … Going through this whole process, if it can happen to me. It can happen to anyone.”
Then, after the investigation ended the following week, the league did not find sufficient evidence to validate the allegations.
Reese has previously accused Clark’s fans of racism and even alleged they created explicit AI-generated images of the Sky star and sent them to her family members.
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Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese dribbles against the Minnesota Lynx in the first quarter at Target Center. (Brad Rempel/Imagn Images)
“I think it’s really just the fans, her fans, the Iowa fans, now the Indiana fans, that are really just, they ride for her, and I respect that, respectfully. But sometimes it’s very disrespectful. I think there’s a lot of racism when it comes to it,” Reese said in the first episode of her podcast in early September.
“Multiple occasions, people have made AI images of me naked. They have sent it to my family members. My family members are like uncles, sending it to me like, ‘Are you naked on Instagram?’
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