THE Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese debate is the rivalry on everyone’s lips around the WNBA, including former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Since their WNBA debut seasons last year and their college basketball days, the pair have catapulted women’s basketball to new heights.
The WNBA rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese is on everyone’s lips[/caption]
That includes former First Lady Michelle Obama[/caption]
But she was critical of the ‘horrible’ hate directed towards the players[/caption]
But during their most recent face-off as Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky met in Week One of the season, their rivalry went up another level.
During the game, won 93-58 by the Fever, Clark knocked Reese to the ground, sparking a furious reaction from the Chicago forward as Clark was pulled up for a flagrant foul.
Following the game, league officials launched an investigation into alleged “racist” comments directed at Reese.
The rivalry between the two 23-year-olds may bring in a lot of viewers, but according to Obama, that only makes it more difficult to switch off from people’s “horrible opinions”.
While appearing on an episode of the ‘All the Smoke’ podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Clark, she said: “I think the tough thing is the social media element to it – but that’s true across the board.
“These young kids today, what they have to go through, what they have to be able to withstand, because social media is such a huge part of the world.”
Obama continued: “Now the hate is in your room, on your phone, with you all the time.
“And you can’t, for whatever reason, tell these kids to turn it off, because they’re making their living that way.
“Now they are expected to stay engaged. So, I think that makes it feel even worse.
“But I think, as you point out, that’s happening in sports across gender.
“It’s just harder not to withstand other people’s horrible, horrible opinions.”
The WNBA’s report into the alleged racism aimed towards Reese said it could not “substantiate” reports of such behaviour.
It read: “Based on information gathered to date, including from relevant fans, team and arena staff, as well as audio and video review of the game, we have not substantiated it.”
Clark and Reese have not played each other in since that May 17 game.
This has partly come down to both being forced to deal with injuries throughout the season.
In Clark’s case, she has managed to play in just 13 games this season, including missing the last 12 in a row.
And Fever coach Stephanie White gave a coy reply when asked about her potential comeback before the play-offs.
Reese herself has also missed most of the schedule since the All-Star break due to a back injury.
She has missed the last seven games in a row, and there is no clear timetable on her return, though coach Tyler Marsh indicated it “shouldn’t be too much longer” before she is back on the court.
How the WNBA works
THE 2024 WNBA season features 12 teams with the regular-season running from May 14 to September 9.
Each team plays 40 regular-season games – four against five teams from the same conference and two teams from the other conference, and three games against the remaining four teams.
The top eight teams in the league standings qualify for the playoffs – regardless of what conference they’re in.
The playoffs will use a best-of-three format in the first round while the semifinals and WNBA Finals are best of five.
This season also includes a month-long break for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The Las Vegas Aces are defending back-to-back WNBA champions.
