Home/WNBA

USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

0
  Debate

Debate

Is fan criticism of Angel Reese fair, or should we cut her some slack after her injury?

While Caitlin Clark won the ROTY, her rival Angel Reese would have wanted to have a go at the title. Reese was performing up to the mark when a season-ending wrist injury got the better of her, putting a stop to her ROTY dreams. After Clark bagged the title, Reese tweeted “i really just be minding my business cause it’s a lot to mind😉,” which some of her critics say was done to avoid embarrassment. However, one encounter with a Clark fan brought back everything she was trying to forget.

In the latest episode of ‘Unapologetically Angel’ the No. 5 shared an incident involving a fan. Since the Chi-Town Barbie wasn’t happy with the fan’s behavior, she took a jab at him.

“That has happened to me before like people were like… if I don’t sign something but sometimes I be busy. Like I can’t sign everything… one man was like ‘that’s why you not rookie of the year. That’s why that girl (Caitlin Clark) is better than you.’ I’m like ‘You wanted me to sign your thing, and now you don’t like me no more?’ Like people be so mad, and they be like ‘I be wanting to take a picture with you’ But baby ‘I can’t yeah.’ You see also feel like they obligated you… obligated to take the picture,” Reese revealed.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

via Imago

Reese, firstly, broke Candace Parker’s record of most consecutive double-doubles by having 15. Then as the season progressed, she stood tall on expectations by recording double-doubles whenever the opportunity arose. Overall, she had 26 double-doubles, just 2 short of Alyssa Thomas’ record of most double-doubles in a single season.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Plus Reese also had the record for most rebounds for a short period of time. She eclipsed Sylvia Fowles’ record of 404 rebounds when she hit 19 against the Minnesota Lynx during her third last game. She went ahead to get 446 rebounds and was finally overshadowed by her idol A’ja Wilson who had 451 rebounds. Hence, not winning the ROTY must have hurt Reese, who gave back to the fan who was being mean to her. Meanwhile, this was not the first time that Reese showed Clark fans the mirror.

Angel Reese’s plea to Caitlin Clark fans

Reese’s rivalry with Clark started when the two clashed during the NCAA 2023 Championship Finale. Though they had played before that in high school, the duo weren’t considered to be arch-rivals. However, that changed in the NCAA. And since then their fans often take a dig at the other star and that sometimes crosses the line.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

What’s your perspective on:

Is fan criticism of Angel Reese fair, or should we cut her some slack after her injury?

Have an interesting take?

Taking cognizance of the same, Reese during the first episode of Unapologetically Angel revealed that “I’m talking about people have come down to my address, following me home, it’s come down to that. Multiple occasions, people have made AI pictures of me…” She also revealed that such messages have been sent to her family.

Now that Reese has shown Clark’s fans light once again, hopefully, the fans will stop resorting to cheap thrills. And instead, respect their stars and see them in a healthy competitive light.

Have something to say?

Let the world know your perspective.