- The Washington Times - Monday, June 17, 2024

An on-court rivalry between a pair of WNBA rookies, with the Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese called for a flagrant foul against Indiana Fever phenom Caitlin Clark on Sunday, triggered a social media frenzy.

The reaction to the hard foul varied in different circles. Reese, who is Black, received most of the criticism for the collision with Clark, who is White.

Angel Reese should be suspended. Period,” former NFL quarterback and current Fox Sports commentator Matt Leinart wrote on X. “Not good for the game.”

WNBA analysts and former players flocked to Reese’s defense. Hard fouls happen, they said. 

Ex-WNBA forward Swin Cash wrote on X, “To have the only highlight of Angel be that foul is nasty work by these outlets. … Questioning her intent is nonsense! They got it right. It was a flagrant 1, it was called by the refs & the players played on.”

Former Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III took things a step further. He questioned media types for failing to recognize Clark and Reese’s on-court performances, instead focusing on cultural impacts.

Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are being used in a race war,” the ESPN analyst wrote on X. “That is not fair to either athlete or the game of basketball.”

Clark downplayed the foul after scoring a game-high 23 points in the Fever’s 91-83 victory, telling reporters, “It happens.” 

Reese, who had 11 points and 13 rebounds in Chicago’s loss, told reporters she was only trying to make a basketball play. The contact was incidental.

“I can’t control the refs,” she said, “and they affected the game, obviously, a lot tonight. … Going back and looking, I’ve seen a lot of calls that weren’t made. I guess some people get a special whistle.”

• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.

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