Angel Reese mentioned earlier this yr she is prepared to “take the villain function” within the curiosity of “rising ladies’s basketball.”
Now, nonetheless, the Chicago Sky star feels that method has “backfired on me.”
The WNBA launched a press release Wednesday night time saying it “is not going to tolerate racist, derogatory, or threatening feedback” towards anybody affiliated with the league, after being referred to as out by Connecticut Solar star Alyssa Thomas about hate speech directed towards her and different gamers on social media.
Learn extra: WNBA says it will not tolerate racism after Alyssa Thomas calls the league out: ‘No place for it’
On Thursday, Reese began a collection of posts on X that appeared to deal with the media’s protection of the matter.
“Y’all know i’ve been going by means of this for the final 2 years however was informed ‘save the tears’ & ‘cease taking part in sufferer,'” Reese wrote. “Y’all just a little late to the social gathering and will have tried to place out this fireplace manner earlier than it began.”
In a second put up, Reese wrote: “I’ve by no means in my life had privilege however I undoubtedly know the facility I’ve by means of my platform. That didn’t come in a single day. I grew that on my OWN. With that being mentioned, I’ll proceed to make use of my voice in the appropriate manner & say what’s proper regardless that it has backfired on me to be this ‘villain’. I gained’t cease!!”
I’ve by no means in my life had privilege however I undoubtedly know the facility I’ve by means of my platform. That didn’t come in a single day. I grew that on my OWN. With that being mentioned, I’ll proceed to make use of my voice in the appropriate manner & say what’s proper regardless that it has backfired on me to be…
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) September 26, 2024
Reese continued in a 3rd put up.
“For the previous 2 years, the media has benefited from my ache & me being villainized to create a story. They allowed this. This was useful to them,” she wrote. “I generally share my experiences of issues which have occurred to me however I’ve additionally allowed this to occur to me for manner too lengthy and now different gamers on this league are coping with & experiencing the identical issues.
For the previous 2 years, the media has benefited from my ache & me being villainized to create a story. They allowed this. This was useful to them. I generally share my experiences of issues which have occurred to me however I’ve additionally allowed this to occur to me for manner too lengthy…
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) September 27, 2024
“This isn’t okay in any respect. Something past criticism about taking part in the sport we love is unsuitable. I’m sorry to all of the gamers which have/proceed to expertise the identical issues I’ve.… Because of this I began my podcast. To take my voice again and create the narrative of who I actually am. On the finish of the day, I don’t need an apology nor do I believe it will ever cease however one thing has to alter.”
As a star participant at Louisiana State, Reese developed an on-court rivalry with then-Iowa star Caitlin Clark, now with the Indiana Fever. In April, Reese talked concerning the trash speak that went each methods between her and Clark, together with the gesture Reese made towards the Hawkeyes standout through the 2023 nationwide championship sport that obtained widespread consideration.
Learn extra: Column: Angel Reese is not harming ladies’s sports activities. Her pearl-clutching critics are
“That is superb. I am going to take the villain function,” Reese mentioned. “I am going to take the hit for it, however I do know we’re rising ladies’s basketball. If that is the best way we’ll do it, then that is the best way we’ll do it. You both prefer it or you do not.”
Reese expressed the same sentiment in June, as she and Clark had been within the midst of celebrated rookie seasons that helped the WNBA’s recognition soar.
“Look the place ladies’s basketball is. Individuals are speaking about ladies’s basketball that you just by no means would assume can be speaking about ladies’s basketball. Individuals are pulling as much as video games, we obtained celebrities coming to video games, offered out arenas, like simply due to one single sport,” Reese mentioned, referring to the 2023 championship sport.
Learn extra: Commissioner says WNBA has a ‘Chook-Magic second’ with Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese. Gamers say she blew it
“And simply that, I’ll take that function. I’ll take the unhealthy man function, and I’ll proceed to take that on and be that for my teammates. And if I wish to be that and I do know I am going to go down in historical past, I am going to look again in 20 years and be like, yeah, the rationale why we watching ladies’s basketball is not only due to one particular person. It is due to me too, and I would like you all to comprehend that.”
Additionally on Friday, the Ladies’s Nationwide Basketball Gamers Assn. launched a press release calling for extra integrity and professionalism in the best way the league is roofed by the media.
“As a substitute of demonstrating the cornerstones of journalism ethics like integrity, objectivity, and a dedication to fact, you might have chosen to be indecent and downright insincere,” the union mentioned in a press release that’s addressed “to unprofessional members of the media like Christine Brennan.”
Brennan, a USA At the moment columnist, has not responded to the assertion on her social media accounts. USA At the moment Sports activities posted a press release on X from government editor Roxanna Scott in assist of Brennan.
“Christine Brennan is effectively thought to be an advocate for girls and athletes, however at first, she’s a journalist,” Scott wrote.
This story initially appeared in Los Angeles Instances.
