Angel Reese Speaks Out After Flagrant Foul Against Caitlin Clark: ‘I Can’t Control The Refs’
“They affected the game, obviously, a lot tonight,” Reese said
Melissa Tamez/ Icon Sportswire, Andy Lyons/Getty
Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark
Angel Reese is addressing her flagrant foul against Caitlin Clark that had social media talking after their June 16 matchup.
After Reese was charged with a flagrant foul for hitting Clark in the head with her arm while attempting to take away the ball, she spoke out against the call during her postgame presser, calling it a “basketball play.”
“I can’t control the refs. They affected the game, obviously, a lot tonight,” according to Yahoo! Sports. “I’m always going for the ball. But y’all are going to play that clip, what, 20 times before Monday?”
Reese then questioned the lack of calls for the Fever, who went on to win 91-83. “I think we went up strong a lot of times and we didn’t get a lot of calls,” she said. “Going back and looking at the film, I saw a lot of calls that weren’t made. I guess some people got a special whistle.”
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After helping her team secure the win, Clark was asked how she felt about the flagrant foul call against Reese. The WNBA rookie said she chalked it up to a regular occurrence on the court. “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 said according to the Bleacher Report.
The former college rivals have fans eagerly awaiting each one of their WNBA matchups, and Clark said that the competition is what brings out the passion in the two rookies — which means sometimes things might get a bit physical.
Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty
Angel Reese
“That’s what makes it fun,” Clark said per the Bleacher Report. “We’re competitors. That’s the way the game should be. It’s going to get a little feisty, it’s going to get physical, but at the end of the day both teams are just trying to win.”
In February in her cover interview with Women’s Health, Reese explained that although she and Clark have rivalry on the court, the two can still be cool outside of basketball.
Related: Angel Reese Says She and Caitlin Clark Can Have Their Rivalry and ‘Still Be Cool After’
“I love that we’re able to compete and still be cool after, regardless of the outside noise,” the LSU star, 21, told the magazine. Reese added, “People even say Magic [Johnson] and Larry Bird, that era [of basketball] and how it was. If that’s who we are, then okay, cool. … I think we’re both happy about what’s going on.”
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Outrage after Caitlin Clark is whacked on the head by rival Angel Reese in latest WNBA dust up
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The rivalry between WNBA stars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese fired up again on Sunday after another on-court dust up (CBS Sports/ WNBA)
The rivalry between WNBA stars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese fired up again on Sunday after another on-court dust-up where Reese hit Clark on the head during a foul.
In the final minutes of the game between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky, Clark was sent tumbling to the floor after being smacked by Reese. As Clark drove to the basket, Reese stretched up to stop her, connecting heavily. Officials checked the foul and later upgraded it to a Flagrant One – a term for an “unnecessary” foul.
Online users were quick to react, with some calling the move “petty” and “a cheap shot.” Others called for Reese to be banned.
“Angel Reese just clotheslined Caitlin Clark in the head as she went up for a lay-up. What a clown. The pettiness is so funny to watch,” wrote one user.
Caitlin Clark is fouled while driving to the basket pic.twitter.com/U9TvoFUoD3
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) June 16, 2024
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy immediately commented on the foul writing on X “Angelo Reese and the Sky doing Angel Reese and Sky stuff. By the way Caitlin is cooking them.”
However nobody everybody thought the play was over-the-top.
“Unpopular opinion but not every hard foul on Caitlin Clark is some kind of crime against humanity. This looks like the kind to foul you see in basketball all the time,” children’s author Matt Walsh wrote on X.
Clark dismissed the incident as “just part of basketball.” “It is what it is, she was trying to make a play on the ball and make the ball, it happens.”
The rivalry between the two stars has been ongoing since the 2023 women’s college basketball season, when Reese taunted Clark at the end of the national championship game when LSU beat Iowa. The next season the two met again, this time Clark’s Hawkeyes beating Reese in the Elite 8.
Earlier this month, Reese also notably leapt up and cheered when her Sky teammate Chennedy Carter hip-checked Clark – an incident that was later upgraded to a flagrant foul by the WNBA league office.
Despite this, Clark previously described Reese as a “tremendous player” and said it was “fun” competing with her.
The rivalry between WNBA stars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese fired up again on Sunday after another on-court dust-up where Reese hit Clark on the head during a foul (Getty Images)
“I think what she’s [Reese] has done with her platform has been absolutely incredible. She has an entire fanbase that has supported her and what she did at Maryland and then LSU,” she said.
“Obviously, l’ve played her for a very long time, and she’s been a tremendous player. It’s been fun getting to compete against (Angel). I think it’s been really good for the game.
“People just love seeing great matchups, but also… they get to see how amazing these teams are. And then they find new players to support and continue to come back from them.”
HOT NEWS:
ALTERNATE CAMERA ANGLE CAUGHT CAITLIN CLARK’S ‘DIRTY’ PLAY AGAINST THE CHICAGO SKY (VIDEO)
VIDEO: Alternate Camera Angle Caught Caitlin Clark’s ‘Dirty’ Play Against The Chicago Sky
Caitlin Clark (Photo via VanshayM/Twitter)
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark has become the subject of more discourse following her second game against the Chicago Sky.
The rivalry that WNBA fans have been hoping to see between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese developed yet another level Sunday afternoon as the Indiana Fever defeated the Chicago Sky, 91-83.
In the game, Angel Reese got called for a flagrant foul upon review after hitting Clark in the head on a drive to the basket as she went for a block. After the game, Reese took issue with the foul being called flagrant, stating the refs affected the game and appearing to suggests that Caitlin gets a special whistle.
“Basketball play, I can’t control the refs,” she said to reporters. “They affected the game, obviously, a lot tonight.”
“I think we went up strong a lot of times, and we didn’t get a lot of calls,” Reese said. “Going back and looking at the film, I saw a lot of calls that weren’t made. I guess some people got a special whistle.”
What was missed in the game was that Catlin Clark had a viral moment as well.
The Indiana Fever guard appeared to get away with a dirty move often seen in the NBA by the likes of James Harden.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral WNBA stories via Google!Follow Us
Clark found herself on the receiving end of a beneficial foul call as she drove to the bucket and was called.
However, the replay showed that she purposely hooked the arm of a defender to create all of the contact.
Fans called her out for the dirty move:
Notice how refs didn’t call the hook
— Dlo (@_615dlo) June 16, 2024
In the game, Caitlin Clark scored 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the floor while adding eight rebounds and nine assists.
Caitlin Clark Had A Great Response To Angel Reese’s Flagrant Foul
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese battled on Sunday as the Indiana Fever guard scored 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the floor, adding eight rebounds and nine assists, per ESPN.
Reese ended up getting a flagrant foul against Clark, and while she was being blasted online over it, Clark had a different response.
“It’s just a part of basketball,” Clark said.
HOT NEWS:
VIDEO: ANGEL REESE ACCUSES CAITLIN CLARK OF GETTING “SPECIAL” TREATMENT WHILE BLASTING WNBA REFS FOLLOWING SKY’S LOSS TO FEVER
Angel Reese (Photo via Chicago State of Mind Sports/YouTube)
Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese was not happy following her game against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever for several reasons.
Angel Reese had to deal with foul trouble all game long as she had to endure a 91-83 loss to Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on Sunday. She was also assessed a Flagrant 1 for a brutal hit she delivered to Clark’s head.
During her postgame press conference, Reese had some strong words about the officiating.
When asked about the flagrant foul, Reese said the referees “affected the game a lot tonight.”
“It was a basketball play. I can’t control the refs. They affected the game obviously a lot today,” she told reporters.
“I’m always going for the ball. Y’all are going to play that clip 20 times before Monday.”
Reese then accused Caitlin Clark of getting preferential treatment from the officials.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral WNBA stories via Google!Follow Us
“I guess some people got a special whistle,” Reese said.
In the contest, Angel Reese finished the game with 11 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists as she tied the WNBA rookie record with her sixth consecutive double-double. Unfortunately, she had a rough day from the field as she shot 4-of-13 from the field and was whistled for five fouls. She was also a force on defense, recording two steals and a blocked shot, per ESPN.
Chicago Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon defended Reese and her fellow rookie teammate Kamilla Cardoso:
Also Read: REPORT: Eye-Popping Data Proves That Angel Reese Was Dead Wrong About Caitlin Clark & The WNBA
“They play so hard down there and sometimes the whistle just doesn’t go your way,” Weatherspoon said. “They play hard, and that’s the most important thing is to play hard. They know how important that is for us to establish that identity. Tonight I thought they played their butts off. They’re very physical down there. Wish we could have gotten some calls here and there.”
Former ESPN Commentator Says Angel Reese Sounds Jealous of Caitlin Clark
NaLyssa Smith and Angel Reese (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Former ESPN commentator and current Controversial conservative pundit Jason Whitlock is no fan of Angel Reese, as he did not mince words for her in the aftermath of her comments about her place in women’s basketball.
Reese said that after her rivalry with Caitlin Clark, she deserves some credit for helping popularity of the WNBA.
‘It all started from the [2023 women’s] National Championship game, and I’ve been dealing with this for two years now. And understanding, yeah, negative things have probably been said about me, but honestly, I’ll take that because look where women’s basketball is,’ Reese said.
‘People are talking about women’s basketball, but you never would think that we’re talking about women’s basketball. People are pulling up to games.
‘We got celebrities coming to games, sold out arenas, just because of one single game. And 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.
Whitlock to his platform and blasted Reese for her comments.
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