Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark pose for photos before the 2024 WNBA Draft at Brooklyn Academy of Music. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Angel Reese has added an interesting layer to her rivalry with Caitlin Clark. During the latest away clash against the Indiana Fever, the Chicago Sky star committed a dangerous flagrant foul on her nemesis, resulting in the basketball community lashing out at her.
Amidst this storm, WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes recently called out this discourse and attempted to de-escalate the whole situation.
Swoopes openly acknowledged the severity of the foul, justifying the call against Reese. However, the 53-year-old admitted that she doesn’t understand the mayhem around the instance.
During the latest Gil’s Arena episode, she subsequently hinted at a potential ulterior motive, stating,
“It’s the clip they wanna post because they are gonna get all these likes and reposts, but that’s a basketball play. She hit her in the head, of course, it should be upgraded to a flagrant 1. Refs looked at it, they upgraded it. Can we keep playing basketball? My thing is, every time Caitlin [Clark] gets fouled, we can’t make it seem like she was assaulted”.
Her comments provided an objective view of the entire situation. After all, during the third quarter of the clash, Reese did seem as though she wanted to block the layup attempt of a driving Clark. However, she unfortunately fumbled her timing, hitting the latter on the head in the process.
It resulted in Resse initially receiving a foul call before it was later upgraded to a flagrant foul upon review.
The severity of Reese’s illegal play was always going to garner a bit of an uproar around the basketball community, especially considering the ‘Caitlin Clark vs the world’ narrative. However, as Swoopes hints, there is certainly a bit of exaggeration at play here as well.
Still, it is also undeniable that there is quite a bit of hostility that Clark has faced so far this season. Yet, the 22-year-old has managed to be a complete professional about everything.
Amidst the chaos, Caitlin Clark maintained her composure
Clark remained unfazed throughout the controversial moment. Soon after the hard foul against her, the Iowa-born refused to read too far into the situation. Instead, she simply prepared to take the free throws to increase her team’s lead.
During the post-game conference, the Fever rookie outlined precisely this. “It’s just a part of basketball. It is what it is. Just trying to make a play on the ball and get the block. It happens,” she told The Athletic’s James Boyd.
A few days earlier, Clark adopted a similar stance while addressing Chennedy Carter’s dubious flagrant foul attempt. On this occasion, she refused to give the Sky star any stick for her endeavors. Rather, she simply hinted at the increased physicality level around the WNBA, mentioning,
“Basketball is competitive. I get it. Sometimes your emotions get the best of you. Happened to me multiple times throughout the course of my career…There’s no grudges, there’s nothing like that to sports. It’s competitive. It’s not gonna be nice all the time. I think the people that play that at the highest level understand that”.
Her statements highlight just how mature Caitlin Clark has been throughout this whole process. Perhaps her fellow athletes will also cut her some slack going forward, especially considering just how many hits she has taken without so much as a complaint. Until this happens, the risk of the former Iowa Hawkeye succumbing to injury only grows by the minute.
News
VIDEO: Caitlin Clark Got Embarrassed In The Weight Room After Joining Her Fever Teammates For Their Workout Grind
Caitlin Clark (Photos via @YahooSports/X) Caitlin Clark recently had some difficulty with a certain exercise in the weight room, and it was caught on camera. Clark is having a great rookie season with the Indiana Fever on a personal front but could…
Caitlin Clark’s boyfriend is catching heat for his performance at competition with her teammates
Many said he was not taking it seriously while other thought that was his true self X: @StrollerAdam It was an off day for the Indiana Fever on Sunday and the players decided to spend it having fun with a competitive game…
Video: Caitlin Clark Plays Pickleball vs. Fever Teammates Erica Wheeler, Lexie Hull
Kate Frese/NBAE via Getty Images Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark took to the pickleball court on Sunday alongside her peers. Clark joined Fever teammates Erica Wheeler and Lexie Hull in a series of pickleball matches on Sunday. The three WNBA…
Weeks After Caitlin Clark Incident, Chennedy Carter and Angel Reese Might Fall in Bad Books of Jewell Loyd and Nneka Ogwumike’s Faithful
The Chicago Sky’s playing style is relentless. However, on more than one occasion, the WNBA world has seen their passions get the better of them. It is holding especially true for the Barbie-Chen duo of the team: Angel Reese and…
VIDEO: New York Liberty All-Star Sabrina Ionescu Takes Big-Time Shot At Caitlin Clark After Stunning Loss To Her Indiana Fever
Sabrina Ionescu and Caitlin Clark (Photos via @SNYLiberty & Getty Images) New York Liberty All-Star Sabrina Ionescu took a big-time shot at Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever following Saturday’s stunning defeat. Despite a strong performance from Sabrina Ionescu (22 points, three rebounds and…
Caitlin Clark exposed by her teammate during Indiana Fever’s press conference praising her humbleness
Caitlin opened up after making history Caitlin ClarkAP Caitlin Clark continues to amaze in the early stages of her professional career, earning the respect of sports experts. This year’s WNBA rookies are exceptional, drawing more fans to women’s sports. A lot of this excitement comes from the outstanding performance of the Indiana…
End of content
No more pages to load