For the longest time, there has been a persistent narrative in the media that the two rookies, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, don’t seem to like each other. They have also often pitched the two as arch-rivals. However, the Louisiana State University Lady Tigers star Flau’jae Johnson who has plied trade with Reese and competed in the game against Clark gave a first-hand record and negated any conflict between the two. Instead, she chose to expose the dark side of the $660 billion industry that chooses to generate profit by selling narratives regarding Clark and Reese.

Johnson was present on the Bootleg Kev podcast when she was asked to share her take on the animosity between Clark and Reese. Johnson stated that initially it was the fans who were making up stories, and it was the “media that was making it like what it was, it wasn’t.” She further added that she is “a fan of both like Angel and Caitlin.” To which, Kev questioned if it was the media that escalated the narrative.

Johnson looked to agree with Kev and enunciated on the media narrative. She said on the Bootleg Kev podcast, “…walks off and then the fans go like you know what I am saying they try to make it a white black thing which was lame. That’s the only think you can do to make it… like knock the fire. So, I felt like that’s lame already like you know what I’m saying. But it was never like that. It was always the media.”

The perceived rivalry between Reese and Clark started when the two played against each other in the NCAA Finals 2022-23. The LSU then beat the Iowa Hawkeyes by a 102-85 margin as Reese did John Cena’s ‘You can’t see me’ gesture against Clark. This divided opinions among fans as admirers from both sides rushed to defend their stars.

From that point onwards, the NCAA was ablaze with stories of the two stars disliking each other. Meanwhile, when Clark won the Elite Eight against Reese during the NCAA 2023-24 season, it was projected as a sort of redemption for Clark & Co. However, as per Johnson, the story is far from reality and Clark and Reese never had any bad feelings for each other. The same was confirmed by Clark during her rookie season in the W.

Caitlin Clark on her friction with Angel Reese

When Clark was gearing up to play her third game against the Chicago Sky in June, one of the reporters asked her to shed light on the intense rivalry between her and Reese. To which Clark bluntly responded, “I’m pretty sure the only people that view this as a rivalry is all of you.” As per her admission, it is “just a game of basketball.”

She further looked content with the narrative if it helped “move the game forward.” This came as a surprise for many media outlets who were banking on the narrative to generate profit. However, it didn’t stop the rivalry claims as both rookies performed exceptionally well and that gave way to more stories.

But now that Johnson has come forward to share her take, it might ease things up for fans. And hopefully, instead of concentrating on the rivalry they would chug their cans of cold drinks and look to enjoy the league.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting pilot episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and SEC All-Freshman Team Selection, Silas Demary Jr.