WNBA was surrounded by a lot of racial gravity after two college rookie rivals, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, took the league by storm. Two months after Reese was picked seventh overall by the Chicago Sky, her performance and constant comparison to Clark drove some fans to throw dirt at her. However, the Chicago Sky standout is okay to take on the mantle of “villain role” allegedly given by the media if it means advancing women’s basketball.
Reese caught a lot of strays for her “You can’t see me” gesture to taunt Clark during the 2023 national championship game between the LSU Tigers and the Iowa Hawkeyes. In April 2024, Reese addressed the controversy she found herself in the middle of. She said:
“That’s fine. I’ll take the villain role. I’ll take the hit for it, but I know we’re growing women’s basketball. If this is the way we’re going to do it, then this is the way we’re going to do it. You either like it or you don’t.”
Later in June 2024, she added more about the topic while she was in the middle of her record rookie start in the WNBA.
“Look where women’s basketball is,” Reese added. “People are talking about women’s basketball that you never would think would be talking about women’s basketball. People are pulling up to games, we got celebrities coming to games, sold out arenas, like just because of one single game.”
“And just looking at that, I’ll take that role. I’ll take the bad guy role, and I’ll continue to take that on and be that for my teammates. And if I want to be that and I know I’ll go down in history, I’ll look back in 20 years and be like, yeah, the reason why we watching women’s basketball is not just because of one person. It’s because of me too, and I want you all to realize that.”
3 Months Later, Angel Reese Said Her “Villain Role” Backfired
By the end of her rookie season, Angel Reese admitted that her accepting the “villain role” had actually backfired on her. In Sept. 2024, Reese posted several tweets, clarifying how it feels to be on the other end of unnecessary criticism, racial discrimination, and the “villain tag.”
I’ve never in my life had privilege but I definitely know the power I have through my platform. That didn’t come overnight. I grew that on my OWN. With that being said, I will continue to use my voice in the right way & say what’s right even though it has backfired on me to be…
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) September 26, 2024
“Y’all know i’ve been going through this for the last 2 years but was told ‘save the tears’ & ‘stop playing victim,’” Reese wrote. “Y’all a little late to the party and could have tried to put out this fire way before it started.”
In another post, Reese wrote: “I’ve never in my life had privilege but I definitely know the power I have through my platform. That didn’t come overnight. I grew that on my OWN. With that being said, I will continue to use my voice in the right way & say what’s right even though it has backfired on me to be this ‘villain’. I won’t stop!!”
It even reached the stage where the WNBA had to intervene and put a stop to this barrage. This came after Connecticut Sun star Alyssa Thomas called out the league for tolerating such hatred.
Reese is now in her second season and is once again grabbing eyeballs for his rebounding proficiency.
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