By Jessica A. Dennehy
The WNBA season has begun, with the Indiana Fever promptly beating the Chicago Sky 93–58 in the season opener. The Indiana Fever’s point guard Caitlin Clark stunned with the impressive triple-double, securing 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists right out of the gate. Despite this, what’s been more talked about was the third-quarter flagrant foul by Caitlin Clark on Angel Reese and the continuation of their college rivalry into the national league.
Seconds before the end of the first quarter, Reese received a full-court pass near the basket. It was an open shot, with only Clark, already with two early fouls, in her way. However, Clark successfully defended her with no contact, causing Reese to slip up on an otherwise easy layup. The tension between the two players only continued on with the game.
Halfway through the third quarter, Clark delivered a hard foul on Reese as she attempted to drive home to the basket. Officials, upon reviewing the play, proceeded to upgrade Clark’s foul into a flagrant 1, despite not calling anything when Reese, just prior, shoved Fever forward Natasha Howard. Reese, after hitting the ground, attempted to confront Clark, but the Fever Center’s Aliyah Boston stepped in, blocking off Reese from Clark. With the spectacle, both Reese and Boston were given offsetting technical fouls, but only Clark’s flagrant foul sent Reese to the line.
In the aftermath of the Fever’s victory, Clark calmly addressed the foul, making the statement, “Let’s not make it something that it’s not. It was just a good play on the basketball”. She added that “I wasn’t trying to do anything malicious. That’s not the type of player I am.” When Reese was asked for her perspective on the call, she was curt, quickly shutting down any further questions surrounding the play. She only made the statement, “Basketball play. Refs got it right. Move on.”
While both players seemingly seemed to quickly move on from the play, their respective fanbases apparently have not, with even reports of racist comments directed at Reese following the game. This correspondingly led the WNBA to launch an internal investigation and reaffirm its commitment to fighting hate speech. Caitlin Clark, upon hearing this, praised the league and her team for acting swiftly and expressed confidence that the WNBA would respond appropriately. She directly condemned the behavior, saying that “There’s no place for that in our game. There’s no place for that in society.”
Unfortunately, this hasn’t been the first Clark-Reese showdown on the court, only the first of this season. Their rivalry began on the college level when Reese’s LSU beat Clark’s Iowa in the 2023 NCAA championship. Only a year later, though, Clark got her revenge, leading Iowa past LSU in the 2024 Elite Eight in front of 12.3 million viewers—a record-breaking moment for women’s basketball.
Ever since entering the WNBA, the two players’ paths have crossed repeatedly. Firstly, Clark was drafted as the No. 1 pick overall by the Fever, while Reese was drafted No. 7 by the Sky. Additionally, Clark won the Rookie of the Year award, earning 66 of 67 votes, with Reese receiving the lone other vote. While both players insist that they’re focused on basketball, even having taken measures to downplay their rivalry, their respective fanbases have only continued to fuel the flames of their rivalry online.