Angel Reese has said Caitlin Clark has racist fans as she opened up on their rivalry for her new podcast.
The duo have driven interest in the WNBA to new heights since being drafted earlier this year. Reese is at Chicago Sky while Clark was picked first by the Indiana Fever – continuing a fierce rivalry that was played out at college with Reese at LSU and Clark at Iowa.
Reese said: ‘Caitlin is an amazing player and I’ve always thought she is an amazing player.
‘We’ve playing each other since high school. So I think it’s really just the fans – her fans, the Iowa fans and now the Indiana (Fever) fans that are like, they ride for her and I respect that.
‘But sometimes it is very disrespectful. I think there is a lot of racism when it comes to it and I don’t believe she stands for any of that.’
The Chicago Sky player said fans have followed her home outside of basketball and targeted her by creating nude pictures through AI and sending them to her family.
Reese continued: ‘But when it comes to death threats – I’m talking about people coming down to my address, follow me home – it has come down to that.
‘Multiple occasions people have made AI pictures of me like naked, literally. They have sent them to my family members. Uncles have sent them to me like “are you naked on Instagram?”.
‘It sucks to see that, it is really hard that I have to go through that and see other players that have to go through that.
‘But like at the end of the day it is a game that we both love but there is no hate.’
Reese and Clark played out some gripping encounters in the WNBA this season but there have been numerous controversies throughout.
Reese’s teammate Chennedy Carter shoved Clark to the ground off the ball, appearing to yell ‘yo b****’ before shoulder-charging her from behind. Reese was off the court at the time but leapt up and cheered the challenge.
In June, Reese got called for a flagrant foul as she tried to swipe the ball away from Clark but instead made contact with her head.
Together, their rivalry has helped drive the interest in the WNBA to another level
‘I guess some people got a special whistle,’ Reese said after the game.
Clark, for her part, has always downplayed the suggestion that she sees Reese as a rival.
‘I’m pretty sure that the only people who view this as a rivalry is all of you,’ Clark said, speaking to media in June.
‘For us, it’s just a game of basketball. That’s what it is. If it’s going to help move the game forward then absolutely (she’s a rival). That’s amazing. That’s what it should be. People can talk about it.
‘Like I said, if that’s what is going to help the game move forward then absolutely (call it a rivalry).’
The Fever have already secured a place in the WNBA playoffs but Reese and the Sky still have work to do.
They have been in freefall lately, losing the last seven games they’ve played but next up is Los Angeles Sparks, the team bottom of the standings.
