Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark had an altercation in the season opener between the Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever, ending with Clark being slapped with a flagrant for a hard foul on Reese and Reese getting a tech. Things have been spicy between the two stars and it all started during their NCAA days.
In 2023, the March Madness clash between LSU and Iowa set the tone for a media-based rivalry between two of the biggest stars in women’s basketball that has since extended into the WNBA.
Angel Reese Is a Walking Magnet for Controversies
Reese is one of the most popular names in the WNBA, but she’s always been in the spotlight since her NCAA playing days. She’s almost always in the news either for her accomplishments on the court or for a controversy surrounding her character.
Caitlin Clark received a flagrant foul on this play.
Aliyah Boston and Angel Reese received offsetting technical fouls. pic.twitter.com/jzQYEW92TW
— ESPN (@espn) May 17, 2025
According to reports, in 2018, Reese was a junior at Saint Francis Academy when she punched an opposing player in the face during a preseason scrimmage with Cofield’s team at Long Reach High School. After Reese landed the first punch, the two players got tangled up and exchanged several punches before they were separated. She was disciplined by the school after she tendered an apology.
At age 20, Reese spoke out against the then-first lady, Jill Biden’s decision to invite the runner-up of the national championship game to the White House, which is not the norm. It takes a certain character for a 20-year-old to be that bold.
In 2023, Reese, who had transferred to LSU for her junior season, led the Tigers to their first national title by defeating the Hawkeyes 102–85 and she was named outstanding player of the tournament. But what happened after would start a rivalry that is still simmering till date.
After leading LSU to their first national title, Reese hit Clark with John Cena’s “you can’t see me” taunt, and also pointed to her ring finger to gesture her incoming national championship ring.
It was widely alleged at the time that Clark had made the same gesture to the opposite team earlier in the tournament, in Iowa’s Elite Eight game against Louisiana State. Reese claimed she taunted Clark because the Iowa star had previously ‘disrespected’ her teammate Alexis Morris, as well as the South Carolina Gamecocks.
After that incident, Reece touched the issue of racial undertones after being asked about her taunting Clark, who is white and had done her own trash-talking and taunting during the tournament. Clark had not faced any serious backlash.
“All year, I was critiqued about who I was,” Reese said. “… I don’t fit the narrative. I don’t fit the box that y’all want me to be in. I’m too ’hood. I’m too ghetto. Y’all told me that all year. But when other people do it, y’all don’t say nothing.
“So, this is for the girls that look like me,” she continued. “For those that want to speak up for what they believe in.”
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With both Clark and Reese just in their second seasons as a professional, there will be more battles between them down the line and it will not be surprising as Clark has admitted they’re not friends and Reese is a very outspoken person who will always speak her mind and let her feelings known.
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