Angel Reese has broken her silence following Saturday’s highly talked about cheap shot Caitlin Clark took from Reese’s Chicago Sky teammate Chennedy Carter.
The Sky forward said she is okay with being perceived as the “bad guy” in the WNBA, something that the Baltimore native had to deal with over the course of her final two years in college with LSU following the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball national championship game.
“It all started from the (2023) national championship game and I’ve been dealing with this for two years now. Understanding like negative things have probably been said about me, but honestly I’ll take that because look where women’s basketball is,” Reese said Monday. “People are talking about women’s basketball, who you’d never think would be talking about women’s basketball. People are pulling up to games, we’ve got celebrities coming to games and sold-out arenas because of one single game.
“Just looking at that, I’ll take that role. I’ll take the bad guy role and I’ll continue to take that on and be that for my teammates. … I’ll look back in 20 years and be like, ‘The reason why we’re watching women’s basketball is not just because of one person. It’s because of me, too.’ I want y’all to realize that.”
Angel Reese believes the physical play that Caitlin Clark has experienced isn’t new to the WNBA
Just more 👀
“The reason why we’re watching women’s basketball is not just because of 1 person. It’s because of me, too. I want y’all to realize that”
More: https://t.co/3fNUxipTTD pic.twitter.com/1YbGG4mWuL
— GNSportsTV (@GNSportsTV) June 3, 2024
Reese’s comments come in response to recent attention and comments from those of the Indiana Fever organization, including Clark, believing opponents have defended Clark more physically than any other player in the WNBA.
The most recent example of this occurred during the Fever-Sky game on Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse where Carter pushed Clark down to the floor from behind with a cheap shot along the baseline late in the third quarter. Carter was originally assessed a common away from the ball foul but it was later upgraded to a Flagrant 1 foul by the WNBA on Sunday.
There’s also a different angle of the foul, where Reese stands up from the Sky bench and is clapping. Later in the game, Clark appeared to fall to the ground after making contact with Reese while in transition but it remains unclear if it was an intentional cheap shot or not from the “Bayou Barbie.”
Chennedy Carter bumped Caitlin Clark for an away from the play foul 😳
“That’s not a basketball play,” Clark told ESPN on the broadcast. pic.twitter.com/udTMmWFVyn
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) June 1, 2024
Reese was fined $1,000 by the WNBA on Sunday for not making herself available to the media in Indianapolis following the Sky’s 71-70 loss to the Fever on Saturday.
Through seven games with Chicago, Reese is averaging 10.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists. The Sky host the New York Liberty on Tuesday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Angel Reese says WNBA fan growth is ‘not just’ one person
