Angel Reese, a rookie on Chicago Sky, talked candidly about the challenges that have come with her ascent to fame on her brand-new podcast, Unapologetically Angel.

Reese especially mentioned being the target of racist remarks and death threats from Caitlin Clark’s fans, a rookie for the Indiana Fever. Reese added that she is aware that Clark does not support the actions of her fans.

“I think it’s really just the fans, her fans, the Iowa fans, now the Indiana fans, that are like, they ride for her,” Reese remarked (10:30 mark). And while I do appreciate that, there are instances when it is extremely disrespectful. In my opinion, there is a great deal of racism involved, and she doesn’t seem to agree with any of it. However, there have been other instances of death threats, such as the ones where someone follow me home and coming to my address.”

On the court, Reese and Clark have been rivals since before they were in the WNBA. Before Clark and the Hawkeyes defeated Reese and the Tigers in the Elite Eight of the previous season, Reese’s LSU defeated Clark’s Iowa in the national championship game of 2023.

While the rivalry has produced entertaining games and fan arguments, it has also resulted in hate mail sent at Reese by some fans. Both Clark and Reese want to stop this and maintain the focus on basketball.

Reese has persevered in performing well on the court despite going through a challenging period off it. With a game average of 13.3 points and 13.2 rebounds, she is probably Clark’s sole rival for Rookie of the Year.

In just her first season, Reese has already shattered a number of WNBA records. She surpassed WNBA legend Sylvia Fowles’ record of 404 rebounds in a season last week. She is just a few games away from surpassing Alyssa Thomas of the Connecticut Sun’s record of 28 double-doubles in a single season, which she already surpassed as a rookie.

As they look to compete for the playoffs, the Sky are now in eighth position in the WNBA standings thanks to a fantastic season by Reese.