Hard foul draws Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark into unfair ‘race war’ label, contends Robert Griffin

An on-court rivalry between a pair of WNBA rookies, with the Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese called for a flagrant foul against Indiana Fever phenom Caitlin Clark on Sunday, triggered a social media frenzy.

The reaction to the hard foul varied in different circles. Reese, who is Black, received most of the criticism for the collision with Clark, who is White. Angel Reese was 'upset' with mentor Shaquille O'Neal in phone call over Charles Barkley's Caitlin Clark rant: 'Why didn't you say nothing?' | Daily Mail Online

“Angel Reese should be suspended. Period,” former NFL quarterback and current Fox Sports commentator Matt Leinart wrote on X. “Not good for the game.”

WNBA analysts and former players flocked to Reese’s defense. Hard fouls happen, they said.

Ex-WNBA forward Swin Cash wrote on X, “To have the only highlight of Angel be that foul is nasty work by these outlets. … Questioning her intent is nonsense! They got it right. It was a flagrant 1, it was called by the refs & the players played on.”

Former Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III took things a step further. He questioned media types for failing to recognize Clark and Reese’s on-court performances, instead focusing on cultural impacts.

“Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are being used in a race war,” the ESPN analyst wrote on X. “That is not fair to either athlete or the game of basketball.” Fans Convinced Angel Reese Took Blatant Shot At Caitlin Clark After Fever-Sky - Athlon Sports

Reese went on to call the foul a “basketball play” and blasted the refs for calling it a fragrant.

“It was a basketball play. I can’t control the refs. They affected the game obviously a lot today.”

There are some in the media who desperately want you to believe Angel Reese’s flagrant foul on Caitlin Clark is a bigger deal than it actually was.

The Indiana Fever hosted the Chicago Sky on Sunday in what was the second WNBA matchup between the former college rivals. Late in the third quarter, Reese tried to block Clark’s shot as she drove to the basket for a layup. The ball was just out of reach, so Reese instead made contact with Clark’s head. The referees reviewed the play and determined it was a flagrant foul penalty 1, meaning Clark would shoot two free throws and the Fever would still have the ball.

For certain talking heads in the media, however, that one play was enough for fire off the same outrageously stupid takes about Clark and her place in the WNBA.

Since Clark took a flagrant foul from Reese’s teammate Chennedy Carter during the teams’ first matchup on June 1, much of the national coverage has been about race and sexuality within the league. Some, like OutKick’s Clay Travis, believe that Clark is a victim of discrimination because she is a straight White woman playing in a “Black lesbian league.”

Not long after the foul on Reese, Travis again regurgitated that theory with the hopes that one day it might actually make sense.

“Angel Reese takes total swing at Caitlin Clark’s head, gets flagrant foul,” he said online. “They hate Clark because she’s white. Fever have to get an enforcer or Clark’s going to be knocked out for the year on one of these plays.”