Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese is having a tough week. Her head coach, Teresa Witherspoon, who helped lead her to her Rookie of the Year candidacy, was reportedly fired on thursdayAnd Reese said in a post on X that she was “heartbroken”.
Reese also addressed In another X post on Thursday, another big issue that is bothering him.
“For the last two years, the media has profited from my pain and made me a villain to create a story. They allowed it. It was beneficial for them. I sometimes share my experiences of those things Which has happened to me but I have also allowed this to happen to me for too long and now other players in this league are dealing and experiencing the same things,” Reese wrote.
“This is not okay at all. There is nothing wrong beyond criticism about playing the game we love. I am sorry for all the players who are experiencing the same things as me. This is why That I started my podcast. Take back my voice and represent who I really am. At the end of the day, I don’t want to apologize and I don’t think that will ever stop but something has to change.”
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Chicago Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon talks with Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese during the second half against the Dallas Wings at College Park Center. (Kevin Jayaraj/USA TODAY Sports)
Reese launched her own podcast, “Unapologetically Angel”, on September 5 and has released new episodes weekly. Since launching the podcast she has used the podcast several times to share her struggles with the public reaction affecting her mental health.
In her first episode, posted on September 5, Reese specifically mentioned the alleged harassment she received from rival player Kaitlin Clark’s fans.
“I think it’s really just the fans, his fans, the Iowa fans, now the Indiana fans, that are really just, they ride for him, and I respectfully respect that. But sometimes it’s just too disrespectful. It happens. I think there are a lot when it comes to racism,” Reese said.
Reese cited death threats and people visiting her home as examples of steps taken by Clark’s fans in response to their rivalry.
“People came to my address, followed me to my house. It got to the point,” Reese said.
Reese even alleged that some fans had created AI-generated photos of her, showing her without clothes, and sent them to her relatives.
Inside Kaitlin Clark and Angel Reese’s impact on men’s basketball
Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark during the second half at Wintrust Arena in Chicago on June 23, 2024. (Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“Many times, people have created AI images of my nudity. They’ve sent it to my family members. My family members are like my uncles, they’ve sent it to me like, ‘Are you naked on Instagram? ‘” Reese said. “It sucks to go through that and see other players have to go through that.”
Reese claimed She has been the victim of rampant online harassment, and it first escalated when she and her college team, LSU, defeated Clark and Iowa in the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Game. When LSU took a big lead in the final minutes of that game, Reese pointed his ring finger in a now-infamous photo, which angered some Clark fans. Reese said on his podcast that the moment “changed my life forever.”
At this year’s tournament, when Clark and Iowa got their revenge against Reese in the Final Four, Reese cried in the post-game press conference when she revealed harassment allegations earlier that year. Reese also created controversy for himself during his mysterious weeks-long absence from the team that year.
“I’ve been through a lot,” she told reporters during a postgame press conference. “I’ve seen a lot. I’ve been attacked many times, have received death threats. I’ve been sexually assaulted. I’ve been threatened. I’ve been through a lot of things, and I’ve come out stronger every time.” “I have been standing since.”
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Angel Reese, right, of the LSU Lady Tigers reacts to Kaitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes during the fourth quarter of the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball tournament championship game at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on April 2, 2023. (Maddy Meyer/Getty Images)
Reese’s teammate Hailey Van Lith blamed racism for Reese’s treatment in the same press conference.
“A lot of the people who are making these comments are racist toward my peers,” Van Lith said.
As a WNBA rookie, Reese averaged 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game and broke the record for most rebounds in a season. He had season-ending surgery in early September. MVP A’ja Wilson broke Reese’s rebounding record before the end of the regular season. The Sky finished 13–27 and failed to make the playoffs for the first time in five years.
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