In a basketball game between two professional teams in the WNBA, the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky, Caitlin Clark of the former team was charged with a ‘flagrant foul’ against Angel Reese of the latter team. This resulted in some fans hurling abuse at Reese.
The WNBA says it is looking into allegations of “hateful fan comments” during Indiana Fever’s fiery win over the Chicago Sky on Saturday.
…Sources have told the Indianapolis Star the investigation is based around racist comments directed towards Reese from a member or members of the crowd, although they are not believed to have been directly related to the incident with Clark. On Sunday, the WNBA said it is looking into the matter without going into specifics.
“The WNBA strongly condemns racism, hate, and discrimination in all forms – they have no place in our league or in society. We are aware of the allegations and are looking into the matter,” the league said in its statement.
The Indiana Fever likewise issued a statement saying they are aware of the allegations and adding that the team are working “closely” with the WNBA in its investigation. “We stand firm in our commitment to providing a safe environment for all WNBA players,” the team said.
Although the term ‘flagrant foul’ sounds bad, it is a fairly frequent occurrence in professional basketball and sometimes happens as part of a playing strategy to commit an intentional foul.
In basketball, a flagrant foul is a personal foul that involves excessive or violent contact that could injure the fouled player. A flagrant foul may be unintentional or purposeful; the latter type is also called an “intentional foul” in the National Basketball Association (NBA). However, not all intentional fouls are flagrant fouls, as it is an accepted strategy to intentionally commit a foul (without the intent to injure) in order to regain possession of the ball while minimizing how much time elapses on the game clock.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) established the flagrant foul to deter contact that, in addition to being against the rules, puts an opponent’s safety or health at risk.
There has been a traditional rivalry between Clark and Reese dating back to their college playing days. This kind of long-standing rivalry is not uncommon in sports. The problem in this case is that both are women and Clark is white and Reese is Black. This has resulted in some fans turning a sports rivalry into a racist and misogynistic hatefest. Some of these fans seem to be new to the game, attracted by the fact that Clark is white and excelled in college in a sport that is dominated by Black players. These people, unaware of basketball’s intricacies, saw in Clark’s and her team’s early setbacks, not the entirely predictable struggles of a player in their rookie season, but discrimination against white players. While Clark, again predictably, has got much better in her second season, some of her fans still cling to the idea that she is being targeted for being white, such as in this latest outburst.
Both Clark and Reese have downplayed any personal animosity, stating that these on-court confrontations are part of the game.
Both Clark and Reese downplayed the foul after Saturday’s game.
“Let’s not make it something that it’s not,” Clark said. “It was just a good play on the basketball … I’ve watched a lot of basketball in my life, that’s exactly what it was. I wasn’t trying to do anything malicious. That’s not the type of player I am.”
Reese indicated she did not believe Clark was being cynical when she committed the foul, saying it was “a basketball play.”
Last season, a number of players who committed fouls on Clark were subjected to a significant amount of racist, sexist and homophobic comments online from people purporting to defend the guard.
“People should not be using my name to push those agendas. It’s disappointing. It’s not acceptable,” Clark said last June. “… Treating every single woman in this league with the same amount of respect, I think, it’s just a basic human thing that everybody should do.”
The WNBA has come a long way in gaining popular acceptance and better salaries and treatment for its players and building up its fan base. Rivalries like these tend to increase interest in the game. I recall the legendary Larry Bird-Magic Johnson rivalry of the NBA in the past. That too began in college and continued into the NBA, though they were good friends off the court. There too one player was white and the other Black but I do not recall their intense rivalry becoming tainted by racist abuse by fans, though to be honest, I do not follow basketball, or any professional sports that closely.
These new ‘fans’ are not doing the WNBA any favors.
In the lede it should be Caitlin Clark rather than Caitlin Reese.
[Thanks. I corrected it. -- Mano]
Bird and Johnson were equals, both exceptionally talented. Clark and Reese are not. Clark is a generational talent, Reese is average at best. The “rivalry” is media hype.
@larpar
Let me first say that talent is not the only factor that makes a rivalry and so your logic is invalid due to this premise you implied being false.
Second, be cautious that this seemingly common belief that Reese is “average at best” is one that seems to be driven largely by the racism of which Mano speaks. Granted, I do think some of it is driven by an offensive bias. By which I mean it is my understanding that Reese is a pretty good defender and quite good at collecting rebounds. But good defensive play rarely gets the same attention as good offensive play. I hope it’s that latter bias you may be falling victim to and not the former!
From my not very close observation, Clark is a talented and pretty white athlete who clashed with a black athlete on the court. To certain people, it does not matter that that other athlete is also talented and pretty, her sin is that she is a black athlete clashing with a pretty white woman. Those people have latched on to Clark as their champion, revelling in any chance to verbally snipe at Reese. It has become such a Thing that even I -- a person that does not bother to support Australian sport very much and international sport less still -- even I have heard of this issue. And I’m pretty sure Clark would prefer not to have such ‘support’.
@ ^
I don’t understand this objectification of Clark as “pretty”. Don’t get me wrong -- I’m not saying she’s ugly or anything. I don’t understand people like Holms thinking her appearance is a defining feature. Just because she’s a woman?
https://www.google.com/search?q=caitlin+clark&udm=2
larpar @2:
2024: WNBA All-Rookie Team, WNBA All-Star, WNBA rebounding leader.
How is that ‘average at best’?
Leo Buzalsky @3
My bias comes from 50+ years of participating and watching basketball. Reese is an above average rebounder. She lacks other basic basketball skills. Change average at best to slightly above average if it makes you feel better.
Rob Grigjanis @6
2nd is rebounding. She is an above average rebounder. That’s her skill. At 6’3″, she should be a good rebounder. She’d have fewer rebounds if she could make a basket. She had a shooting percentage of 43.8% from inside of 5′, worst in the league.
She did make the All-Star team, but that was after the top players were chosen for the Olympic team. She did not make the first or second All WBNA teams at the end of the season.