Angel Reese Calls Out Olympics Media Coverage After U.S. Women’s Basketball Wins Gold

Kristen Wong | Aug 13, 2024

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese had a fiery response after the U.S. women’s basketball team won gold at the Paris Games, though her reaction didn’t directly come from the title game itself.

On Sunday, Team USA clinched its eighth straight gold medal with a nail-biting 67-66 win over host nation France, which was just the third time the U.S. women had won a game by fewer than 10 points during their record-setting 61-game Olympic winning streak. Stars A’ja Wilson, Kahleah Copper and Kelsey Plum each enjoyed big-time individual performances, but the team as a whole deserved its flowers following the hard-fought victory.

Not long after the confetti had fallen, however, some members of the media were already hyping up the U.S. women’s basketball squad at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. The morning of Team USA’s gold medal win, ESPN posted their projections for which young WNBA players could suit up for Team USA in four years, mentioning Reese, Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark and others.

The Sky rookie wasn’t having any of that. 

In response to the ESPN article, Reese wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), “Let’s just congratulate these women & let them enjoy this moment! Leave me out of this until my time comes!”

Let’s just congratulate these women & let them enjoy this moment! Leave me out of this until my time comes! 😇 https://t.co/tMK1jr9tdZ

— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) August 11, 2024

Reese and Clark were controversially left off Team USA’s roster this summer in favor of more experienced veterans. Both Rookie of the Year candidates have since stated that their hope is to make the 2028 Olympic squad.

“I want to be an Olympian by 2028,” Reese said in July. “I think I have time to just be able to continue to grow… I take pride in everything—being able to be from the United States and being able to wear those three letters across your chest.”

In her rookie season, Reese has averaged 13.5 points and 12.0 rebounds per game and surpassed Candace Parker for the league record for most consecutive double-doubles (15).

With Olympian greats like Diana Taurasi officially stepping away from the international stage, Reese and Clark likely won’t be the only first-timers to get their shot at winning Olympic gold come 2028.