NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
ESPN star Stephen A. Smith weighed on Monday as to why Catilin Clark’s tough mistake on Angel Reese became a great story about sports weekend.
Clark’s bad under the basket came after Reese pushed out of an Indiana fever player to secure an offensive rebound. Clark gave Chicago Sky rather than preventing two points. Reese let Clark have a penny over the bad.
Clark’s personal mistake was upgraded to an obvious error.
CLICK HERE for more sports cover at Foxnews.com
Chicago Sky Forward Angel Reese, #5, responds to a flagrant error from Indiana Fever Guard Caitlin Clark, #22, Saturday, May 17, 2025 during a game between Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (IMagn)
The two WNBA stars neglected the violation in their press conferences after Postgame, but it still became a hot topic of debate because of the story the two young athletes have.
“Take first” Host Molly Qerim mutely asked if the story of Clark and Reese became “trending news” was because it was women who were physically with each other, or was it because it involved a black and a white player.
“It’s not about black and white – it’s about the white player and the black player,” Smith said of Clark and Reese. “Why? Because of the History they had before they came to the wnba. If Angel Reese was never in Caitlin Clark’s Face Taunting Her The Way That She Did, Mimicking What Caitlin Clark Was Doing To Numerous Opponents In Route to the Final Four and Then Lsu And Angel Reese Busted Busted Busted Busted Busted There You Know What to that Particular Moment in Time and Angel Reese was in here face chirping that here the way that she did, it would have never got gotten to this point.
“I’ve never considered it a bad thing. I love that kind of confrontation. I love that kind of warmth. But there are white people in America who had a problem with Angel Reese who came on ‘the chosen,’ at Caitlin Clark, that way. And because of that, they have traded with a level of vitriol she received from all over the country because she hated her because of her elaborate popularity and the fact that she had gone in Caitlin. Clark that way.
Stephen A. Smith at ESPN NBA COUNTDOWN LIVE SET AT INTUIT DOME on October 23, 2024. (Kirby Lee-Preferred Pictures)
Dave Portnoy slams wnba as the league examines ‘hateful comments’ to Angel Reese
“Now we come to Wnba. No guilt in Caitlins at all. But in the end, because of her greatness, and because people were resistant to accepting the way I have articulated on many occasions, you have people who use it as an excuse to throw vitriol on other people. In the end, this is where it is raised her popularity level.”
Smith pointed to the rivalry Larry Bird and Earvin “Magic” Johnson had in the NBA. It started at the university level and flourished into the NBA.
He pulled a comparative racial line between the NBA storations and young WNBA stars.
“What I would say it’s all this … No matter how big Michael Jordan was obviously, it started with Bird vs. Magic. Yes, you can talk about Showtime vs. Boston, but the white superstar lost in the national championship game to the guy called Magic in Michigan State when (BIRD) was in Indiana State and him who entered NBA,” he said. ” “They constantly made the final and they owned most of the 80s with regard to the two teams respectively. The bottom line is, it helped to raise popularity.
Indiana Fever Guard Caitlin Clark, #22, and Chicago Sky Forward Angel Reese, #5, shaking his hands before the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on May 17, 2025. (Trevor Ruszkowski-Published Pictures)
“So, Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, embrace this. It’s ok because all you do is compete.”
Indiana won the first of five matches against Chicago. Clark had a triple-double, and Reese had a double-double.
