Angel Reese Refuses to Single Out Caitlin Clark Fans For Crossing Line
Anybody who has followed women's basketball over the past few years has been made aware of the dynamic between WNBA superstars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
These two women have been pitted as rivals ever since the fateful moment when Reese taunted Clark in the waning moments of the 2023 NCAA Championship game. This catapulted them both into a new stratosphere of stardom, which they've since harnessed to impressive success both on and off the court.
Reese hasn't always been eager to praise Clark's massive fanbase. But when the Chicago Sky star was asked about these fans during her appearance at this year's Complex Conversations event, she refused to single them out.
"I think it's just competition," Reese said when asked whether there's a real rivalry between her and Clark. "It has been competition since college... I've been playing against Caitlin since we were probably in eighth or ninth grade... and then finally being able to compete at the National Championship.
"People don't know the legacy of us being able to play against each other for a really long time, but obviously social media is going to put two women against each other," Reese continued. "But... I think it shines a light on women's basketball."
Reese was then asked whether she thinks Clark's fanbase crosses the line sometimes.
"I don't think it's just her fans. I think it's fans in general," Reese responded. "People don't realize at the end of the day, we're human. You guys watch us. And knowing that, it's just basketball. I promise you, it's just basketball. I don't have any hard feelings towards her, she doesn't have any hard feelings towards me.
"But it gets crazy sometimes," she added.
Angel Reese was on the Complex and was asked about Caitlin Clark. I will 100% give her props here for how she answered the question about if she gets hate from Caitlin’s fans. Would love to see more WNBA players echo her sentiment. #WNBA #Feverrising
— Ken Swift (@kenswift) November 28, 2024
Full Video Here:… pic.twitter.com/dzpCPDfUQj
It's cool to see Reese respond this way and show she holds no ill-sentiment toward this specific segment of women's basketball's fanbase.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.