On Sunday (June 23), the media darling of women’s basketball, the athlete tabbed as the central protagonist in her sport’s revival, got upstaged by the so-called villain.
And it was glorious.
Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky triumphed over Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever by a score of 88-87. It was another thrilling chapter in the rivalry between two rookie stars that has propelled the WNBA to unprecedented popularity.
“bUt wHy dO ThE ChIcAgO SkY HaTe tHe fEvEr? ThEy pLaY ToO HaRd. tHeY TaLk tOo mUcH. ThEy sHoUlD’Ve lEt tHeM WiN fOr ThE sAkE oF—” *transmission ends*
anyways, back to our original programming:
WE DON’T CARE BOUT NONE OF THAT. SKY ON TOP#skytown pic.twitter.com/93hludCnbW
— Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) June 23, 2024
With all due respect to the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets, who played at Wrigley earlier that day, the Sky-Fever matchup at Wintrust was thee game in the city. Celebrity actors, rappers, former and current NBA players, and local dignitaries were in the building. A certain WNBA legend was also in attendance. CNN reported that ticket prices alone made it the most expensive WNBA game in history. Tickets were going as high as $9,000 before the game.
But thanks to what occurred in that contest and other events from this weekend, those quick to anoint Clark as the WNBA savior and the current face of women’s sports have to rewrite their script—as much as they don’t want to.
The one-woman play they’ve been crafting, one that ignores the contributions of current WNBA stars and miscasts Reese as this villain, that features Clark as their “Starlight” and chosen one, is being remade as an ensemble production.
And so far, in this true story of a season, Reese has upstaged the main star. With the outcome of the Olympic Trials this weekend, expect more elite Black women athletes to join the cast.
***
In a report about the Fever-Sky game on a Chicago news channel, an interviewee remarked how the players from each team are inspiring a whole generation of girls.
The comment sensibly assumed that if people watched the games and removed their biases, they would see that Clark, Reese, and other players from that game, like Kamilla Cardoso, Aliyah Boston, Kennedy Carter, Kelsey Mitchell, and others, display qualities worthy of being emulated.
But the script crafted to serve marketing interests, which thrives on an either/or paradigm where one thing deemed “good” means the other is “bad,” has tainted the conversations around Reese and Clark.
It’s the former who has gotten most of the negative attention: Reese gets disparaged for displaying the same qualities that Clark gets adored for.
It’s a movie we’ve seen before — White is Good, and Black is Bad.
A White athlete like Tom Brady is praised for being “passionate” while cursing out teammates and slamming tablets on the sidelines. In contrast, a Black athlete like Terrell Owens or Odell Beckham is shamed for being similarly fiery or exuberant.
Reese has been the victim of that double standard since she upstaged Clark in the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship when LSU dispatched Iowa to win it all.
Racists, misogynists and critics formed a “Voltron” of hate, doing all they could to target this gifted, intelligent, hardworking and supremely confident athlete.
It’s as if they feel diminished by her success or buoyed by her failures.
It’s a storyline that I have seen play out in real-time.
For example, a Chicago Defender Instagram post about the Sky drafting Reese and Cardoso drew many likes and impressions. But haters also assembled in the comment section, leaving these poorly-written “jewels” about them, especially Reese:
“Clown”
“I don’t want to see this trash damn”
“Ghetto”
Roguish & Ghetto”
“They look manly”
“Reese is horrible role model Chicago is about to see what a cry baby player looks like! Caitlyn is class Reese is a punk”
There were even worse comments from people that I have had to delete and report.
***
But on Sunday, jokers like these, along with admirers and fans of good basketball, got to witness an epic show in Chicago where Clark was brilliant, but Reese was superior.
On Sunday, Clark notched 17 points, six rebounds, 13 assists and four steals. But Reese enjoyed her best game as a rookie, scoring a career-high 25 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. She put on a historic performance in leading the Sky to a win.
No rookie has posted more than 25 points and 15 rebounds since 2018. And speaking of double-doubles, Reese got her eighth straight.
“I’m a dog. You can’t teach that…”
Angel Reese reveals her motivation behind leading the Sky to victory against the Fever pic.twitter.com/yXfTYco6FL
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 23, 2024
And though the haters gloat over the fact that Clark has received more WNBA All-Star votes than Reese so far, the Sky rookie is having the better season.
And speaking of headliners getting upstaged, Reese isn’t the only one who has entered the chat.
In the broader world of women’s sports, Black women like Sha’Carri Richardson, Simone Biles and Simone Manuel are set to take the Paris Olympics by storm, reclaiming their space on the marquee.
To anyone who has a problem with that, enjoy the show.
Sheryl Swoopes and Angel 🥹🥹#skytown pic.twitter.com/7zB7mq5wRa
— Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) June 23, 2024
About Post Author
