Though the 2024 WNBA season has garnered significant attention and ratings, it has also been marred with instances where players have been subjected to racist abuse from fans. On Thursday, WNBA rookie and Chicago Sky star Angel Reese pointed fingers at the media for its involvement in that negativity.
The 22-year-old’s comments came in the wake of Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas accusing a section of Indiana Fever fans of racism after they faced off in the opening round of the playoff series, per Bleacher Report.
“In my 11-year career, I’ve never experienced the racial comments from the Indiana Fever fan base. It’s unacceptable, honestly. There’s no place for it. We’ve been professional throughout the whole entire thing, but I’ve never been called the things that I’ve been called on social media,” Thomas initially said.
“Basketball is headed in a great direction, but we don’t want fans that are going to degrade us and call us racial names. I mean, we already see what’s happening in the world and what we have to deal with in that aspect. And we come to play basketball for our job and it’s fun, but we don’t want to go to work every day and have social media blown up over things like that. It’s uncalled for. Something needs to be done, whether it’s them checking their fans or this league checking, there’s no time for it anymore.”
ESPN’s Andraya Carter also re-echoed those sentiments and said there’s “no space” for WNBA fans who abuse players. “It’s heartbreaking that … the excitement around the league is at its highest, but the racial slurs and the derogatory comments and the online bullying are also at their worst,” Carter said in the video that was posted on X.
Carter’s comments prompted Reese to respond as she quoted the post to state that “y’all know I’ve been going through this for the last 2 years but was told ‘save the tears’ & ‘stop playing victim.'”
“Y’all a little late to the party and could have tried to put out this fire way before it started….,” Reese added. In a follow-up post, Reese also touched on why she started her podcast and the power it wields.
“I’ve never in my life had privilege but I definitely know the power I have through my platform. That didn’t come overnight. I grew that on my OWN,” she wrote. “With that being said, I will continue to use my voice in the right way & say what’s right even though it has backfired on me to be this ‘villain’. I won’t stop!!”
Reese in another post also claimed that the media over the last two years has “benefited from my pain & me being villainized to create a narrative.” “They allowed this,” she stated.
“This was beneficial to them. I sometimes share my experiences of things that have happened to me but I’ve also allowed this to happen to me for way too long and now other players in this league are dealing with & experiencing the same things.”
She continued: “This isn’t ok at all. Anything beyond criticism about playing the game we love is wrong. I’m sorry to all the players that have/continue to experience the same things I have…. This is why I started my podcast. To take my voice back and create the narrative of who I really am. At the end of the day, I don’t want an apology nor do I think this will ever stop but something has to change…”
Reese and Caitlin Clark being drafted into the league contributed to the WNBA experiencing a huge growth in popularity this year. This was mainly because the pair had already made a name for themselves during their playing days in college. And though there have been reports about a rivalry between Reese and Clark, the WNBA stars have publicly said that is not the case.
Reese has also previously said that though she has been portrayed as the “villain”, she and Clark “don’t hate each other” and are just “super competitive” when playing, per CNN.
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