A since-deleted post by Angel Reese was entirely innocent, her mother says.
The Chicago Sky rookie appeared to reignite his feud with former college basketball rival Caitlin Clark on social media Thursday night.
The Sky handed the New York Liberty their first defeat of the season with a 90-81 victory.
Reese, who was selected by Sky with the 7th overall pick out of LSU, added 13 points and nine rebounds.
However, while celebrating their victory, Reese took a thinly veiled shot at the Indiana Fever rookie, as the debate surrounding his impact on the league continues.
“And it’s about winning in a crowded area, not just because of one player on our charter flight,” she wrote in a since-deleted post on X.
The post was widely believed to be about Clark, and speculation grew when it was deleted. However, Reese’s mother says this was actually aimed at the media.
The speculation also led to “racist and vile comments,” she said.
“She wasn’t attacking CC, but because you and the rest of these ‘children of the corn’ thought she was and were once again sending her racist and vile comments, that’s what she did . His comment was aimed at the media, but of course it’s about clicks,” she wrote with a shrug emoji.
The league’s recent growth is undeniable, but Reese believes it goes beyond Clark.
“It’s not just about one person, I think people don’t realize that (because) the narrative is one person is a game-changer,” she said on Thursday during a press conference. “There are a lot of us – me, Kamilla (Cardoso), there’s Cameron (Brink), Rickea (Jackson). There are so many great players and this was long overdue and just being able to see that our impact was able to change the game.”
“I love it for all of us, and we’re just going to keep going.”
Clark and the Fever picked up their first win Friday night, thanks to the rookie’s three-and-out in front of a star-studded crowd at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles against the Sparks.
Paulina Dedaj of Fox News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
New York Post
