Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese aren’t to blame for enflaming controversy in the WNBA, but are rather being used to start a race war, according to former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III.
‘Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are being used in a race war that is not fair to either athlete or the game of basketball,’ the NFL analyst and Heisman winner wrote on X following the Indiana Fever’s win over the visiting Chicago Sky on Sunday in Indianapolis.
The game was marred by several hard fouls on Clark, who absorbed similar contact in Indiana’s win over Chicago two weeks earlier.
And this time the contact came from Reese, who was ultimately given a Flagrant 1 for striking Clark on the head as she drove to the basket.
Curiously, both Reese and Clark downplayed the foul afterwards, with the Sky rookie suggesting that her rival benefitted from a ‘special whistle.’
Reese (far right) was whistled for a flagrant foul on Caitlin Clark during Sunday’s matinee
Angel Reese #5 of the Chicago Sky reacts after fouling Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever
But while Clark wrote it off as ‘part of basketball,’ others were quick to label Reese a ‘thug’ on social media.
‘Not going to watch that thug Reese try and intentionally hurt Clark while the league sits back and makes it happen (sic),’ one fan wrote on X. ‘The league was a joke before CC and will be bankrupt when she leaves.’
‘Angel Reese should be suspended,’ another Heisman winner, Matt Leinart, wrote on X. ‘Period. Not good for the game.’
Like Griffin’s, Leinart’s comment drew signification reaction online.
‘Caitlin is cool with the foul, but Matt Leinart ain’t?’ sportswriter Chuck Modi wrote on X. ‘Again, the prob ain’t Clark or Angel Reese. The problem is mostly men in media, & esp white men, who ignored the WNBA until 2024, and finally entered the chat to protect a white woman who never asked them to protect her.’
Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III thinks Reese and Clark are being used by others
A heisman winner at Baylor, Griffin became a TV analyst after injuries derailed his NFL career
Caitlin Clark celebrates a basket during the first half against the Chicago Sky
Some, like Fever coach Christie Sides, liked the corrected call.
‘The right call was made in that moment,’ Sides said. ‘Just make the right call in those moments, and we can move forward. But when we don’t make the right call in those moments, that’s when there’s a problem and they made the right call tonight.’
Reese disagreed with Sides’ statement.
‘I think we were playing really hard,’ Reese said. ‘I think we went up really strong a lot of times and we didn’t get a lot of calls.
‘And going back and looking at the film, I’ve seen a a lot of calls that weren’t made,’ Reese continued. ‘I guess some people got a special whistle.’
Clark finished with 23 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds and now has a 3-1 record against Reese dating back to their college days. However, Reese’s LSU Tigers did beat Clark’s Hawkeyes in the 2023 NCAA title game.
Reese had 13 rebounds and 11 points, while committing five costly fouls in the 91-83 loss.