Angel Reese Appears to Shade Caitlin Clark, Fever in Cryptic Post After Sky’s Win
Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRTFeatured Columnist IVMay 24, 2024
Evan Yu/NBAE via Getty Images
The Indiana Fever and rookie phenom Caitlin Clark were the first WNBA team to receive a chartered flight this season, as players, coaches and fans continue to push for chartered flights to become the norm.
But after Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky upset the New York Liberty 90-81 on Thursday night, the rookie forward fired off a since-deleted social media post that could have been interpreted as shade being thrown in Clark’s direction:
Bleacher Report @BleacherReportAngel after the Sky’s W tonight 👀 pic.twitter.com/wKpp3T9CXT
You’re free to dissect that as you please, but here are a few pieces of context to consider.
One, Reese has already been outspoken about the Sky not receiving chartered flights:
Kit Guinhawa @BeatKit22Angel Reese has a message for the WNBA 👀
“Just praying that this is one of the last commercial fligts the Chicago Sky has to fly….
Like Breezy said “Practicing gratitude & patience as the league introduces charter flights for all teams.” pic.twitter.com/jq1iaOocn4
She hasn’t been alone in that regard:
Brittney Sykes @BrittBundlezComplicated * sheeeshhh
“It’s tough that the season is starting today and we’re still trying to figure out those kinks,” Connecticut Sun guard Dijonai Carrington told CBS Sports earlier in May regarding a number of teams not receiving chartered flights. “But some teams haven’t figured it out. I don’t know. It’s just—not happy about it, especially as a member of the players union.”
So while the goal is to get every team chartered flights in the future, there may be some players who raised their eyebrows at the optics of the highly heralded rookie receiving the first charter flight of the season.
Especially when that rookie’s team has since gone on to lose all five games it has played this season.
Regardless, there’s no doubt that Clark has become a polarizing figure, with LeBron James and Charles Barkley feeling the need to publicly defend her recently:
Mind the Game @mindthegamepodHere’s what @KingJames has to say about @CaitlinClark22 and the hate that she has received during her time in the WNBA.
Watch the full episode with @jj_redick: https://t.co/5hyyY2bIhe pic.twitter.com/db4Jvj7OFD
Complex Sports @ComplexSportsCharles Barkley comes to the defense of LeBron James and Caitlin Clark:
“LeBron you are 100% right on these girls hating on Caitlin Clark. Y’all petty.”
(via: @NBAonTNT) pic.twitter.com/thprlOHbIC
Barkley’s comments, in particular, drew a response from several current and former WNBA players:
Dearica Marie Hamby @dearicamarieSeriously…. wtf are you talking about…. https://t.co/6sYVnc1GRH
Jonquel Jones @jus242Interested to know who are all the women that are hating on CC? I’m seeing a lot of coverage about it but I don’t see the hate? I’m also not a big comment reader so I might’ve missed it.
Chiney Ogwumike @chineyCharles and Inside the NBA team are the GOATs of the industry, so respectfully I’ll offer my perspective with love. ❤️
Every WNBA player I know supports this rookie class and are grateful for the spotlight & money that Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and co. are bringing to the W! https://t.co/p9jQogjdVH
Chiney Ogwumike @chineyAlso, charter flights were actually first deployed last year during the W post-season because:
1. Safety with increasing number of star players
2. Revenue trends are starting to support it. W has quickly gone from $60M in 2019 to over $200M in 2023 on a billion dollar valuation.
There’s also the history of Reese and Clark to consider. Reese’s LSU Tigers beat Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes in the 2022-23 Women’s National Championship Game, with Reese famously hitting the John Cena “face wash” celebration in front of Clark:
SportsCenter @SportsCenterANGEL REESE TO CAITLIN CLARK 😳 pic.twitter.com/2NY0CEzwJ3
Clark had her payback this season, eliminating LSU in the Elite Eight after a legendary performance that saw her score 41 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds. She said she wasn’t seeking retribution, however.
“This was no sort of revenge game for us,” she told reporters. “I feel like if you live in the past too much, it kind of ruins the present. The biggest thing for us was: ‘Worry about Iowa. What does Iowa need to do to win this game?’ I thought we did a really good job of that.”
Clark was always going to hit the WNBA with an extreme level of scrutiny after becoming the all-time leading scorer in college basketball history and bringing new levels of attention and hype to the women’s game. Catching some strays comes with the territory.
