Angel Reese claimed that many Caitlin Clark fans have tormented her throughout the rookie season by abusing her online and creating her NSFW AI deepfakes. During the first episode of her “Unapologetically Angel” pod, Reese also revealed that some CC fans have even stalked her and followed her home. She argued that the bitterness of these fans towards her stems from racism.
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However, Stephen A. Smith believes that Reese should also take accountability for her actions. He admitted that the malicious conduct towards her is unforgivable and disgusting. But at the same time, he wanted Reese to realize that she brought it all on herself.
SAS reminded the Chicago Sky rookie that she was the one who instigated the beef with Clark. He recalled Reese using John Cena’s “You can’t see me” taunt on Clark after sealing the 2023 NCAA championship.
SAS refused to believe that Reese couldn’t have foreseen the consequences of her actions.
He declared that the 22-year-old was mature enough to realize that if she went after a successful white athlete like Clark as an African American athlete, then she would be in the cross-hairs of people.
“You’ve [Reese] known that they were coming for you when you were waving your hands in your face to mock Caitlin Clark when you were beating her for the National Championship. You are also old enough to know that in this society, whether they want to admit or not, they don’t like seeing somebody Black coming at somebody white, who is a beloved star of theirs.”
“So you knew they are gonna come for you,” Smith added.
The ESPN analyst agreed that Reese’s ethnicity has played a huge role in people’s awful behavior towards her. He argued that Allen Iverson, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James have also suffered because of their race. Therefore, the Sky rookie has a solid point in that regard.
At the same time, he also highlighted that many people learn the importance of keeping people at a distance in old age. But he is glad that Reese has learned it at a younger age.
Smith also declared that he would call out Reese much more strongly if she were older.
This isn’t the first time Reese has opened up about receiving ill-treatment from basketball fans. She broke down during a press conference after suffering a 7-point loss at the hands of Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes in the 2024 NCAA Elite Eight bracket.
She confessed that the hostility towards her is too much to take. Her hurt was aggravated since LA Times’ Ben Bolch wrote a scathing article, labelling her as a villain, which led to widespread condemnation for seemingly racist undertones.
Angel Reese has indeed gone through a lot since last year. However, she has vented consistently, which has helped her relieve some frustration.
