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The Fake News Media and Related Grifters Will Make Sure that Every Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese Interaction Becomes an International Incident
Published:
The WNBA said Sunday it is investigating allegations of “hateful fan comments” directed at Angel Reese during Saturday’s game between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever in Indianapolis after an incident involving Caitlin Clark and Reese.
‘The WNBA strongly condemns racism, hate, and discrimination in all forms — they have no place in our league or in society,” the league said in a statement. “We are aware of the allegations and are looking into the matter.’
This play was a total nothing burger. The aftermath was also a nothing burger. It was a ubiquitous take foul and it resulted in the most minor of scuffles, which Clark and Reese both downplayed afterward in public comments.
If you didn’t see it:
If that’s a flagrant foul then you and I are Hall and Oates live on stage at The Fillmore. The foul prevents the easy layup and puts a career 73% free throw shooter on the line. Reese and Boston got those offsetting technicals that the NBA refs now give because they feel like they have to do something in response to a situation, big deal or not. Now we’ve got follow up stories about “hateful” comments stemming from a rudimentary sequence that you see several times in any basketball game.
Alas, here we are talking about the WNBA again. All publicity is good publicity! So they say. But this was game #1 of the season and we couldn’t even make it through without the Clark and Reese thing blowing up again. Cue up the 2,000 word think pieces and let’s have a pow wow on racism and privilege for the umpteenth time. RG3 did his obligatory, two-minute monologue while the right wing grifter accounts, who don’t even watch basketball, automatically sided with the white girl. If the two players swatted this aside and said it was nothing, then shouldn’t we believe them? Or can we not help ourselves but go down the rabbit hole of conflict once again? For who? For what? Because the WNBA needs a rivalry to drive interest and get people to watch? Is it even real at this point, or manufactured by activist media and gorged on by fans?
The Reese and Clark thing is equal parts comical and toxic. The college dustups are now years old. We’re way beyond the pale if a simple take foul now devolves into a racism probe and the gum flapping that comes with it. Say what you will about the fan behavior itself, but we all know it’s a product of the media elevating every Clark and Reese interaction to the level of an international incident.
I think commissioner Cathy Engelbert, no relation to Humperdinck, has to hang the Office Space banner at WNBA headquarters. “Is this good for the company?” I’m not sure it is. Sure, everyone knows about Clark and Reese, but most American sports fans can’t tell you who won the league last season. It was the New York Liberty. But we’re not talking about Breanna Stewart or Jonquel Jones, are we? That’s because WNBA bandwidth is now fully allocated to the referendum on race and society we get whenever Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark look at one another.
This rivalry may have started organically, but the media has blown it way out of proportion and seems committed to continuing the charade.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com