A few days ago, I saw a parody of Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese, and it made me wonder what would drive someone to do it. Since Reese’s rise in popularity, social media users worldwide have shared their opinions about her personality, personal life, and on-court drama.
Who is Angel Reese?
Angel Reese is a Randallstown, Maryland native, born May 6th 2002. Reese gained popularity at Louisiana State University before she was drafted in 2024 by the Chicago Sky. She continues to gain fans through her podcast on YouTube, Unapologetically Angel.
The Angel Reese drama online
For years now, Angel Reese has kept the internet in an uproar, from her unapologetic persona to sparking racial debates. Most recently, Angel Reese led her team, the Atlanta Dream, to a major win against the Golden State Valkyries, 79-65. Additionally, the team had consistent wins from October 7 through October 19. Despite this accomplishment, online commentators focus on minuscule matters such as her shoes, her looks, and even her personal dating life.
Most online conversations often include her rivalry with Caitlyn Clark; for a quick reminder, both young ladies rose to fame around the same time during the 2024 draft. Clark was often looked at as the better player; however, that wasn’t the issue. During the 2023 LSU vs. Iowa game, Angel Reese signaled the infamous “you can’t see me” hand gesture shortly after Clark. The simple hand gesture took the internet by storm, tearing down Reese’s character with little to no mention of Clark, who started it all. Some male commenters have described her as “one from the hood, one from the suburbs” or “that little white girl.” Commenter Jason Whitlock singles out Reese’s gesture as “taunting,” and believes that if roles were reversed, “hands would be thrown, and it would be justified.” This older man’s perspective is quite biased, seeing Reese as violent and petty, but Caitlyn as a “little white girl.” During my research, I was disappointed to see a black man describe Reese this way while coddling Clark over a hand gesture, especially with the fact that she has also been attacked racially by mostly white men.
Are Angel Reese’s racism attacks a hoax?
A woman named Megyn Kelly sparked my interest with her YouTube video.
In her video, “Megyn Kelly Breaks Down New Race Hoax Involving WNBA Star Angel Reese Inventing Racial Harassment,” she opens with a poorly written joke introducing Angel Reese as Angel “Jussie Smollett” Reese, then calls her a “liar.” Kelly used the video to shut down African American commenters’ thoughts on the 2025 Indiana vs. Chicago sky game, which is part of a WNBA racial investigation. Before I get ahead of myself, let me explain: Angel Reese’s and her team did not spark the investigation on their own; it was sparked by the crowd allegedly saying racial remarks and monkey sounds, and there was no proof that the investigation concluded. In Kelly’s video, she shows clips of Monica McNutt, Chennai Ogwumike, and Emmanuel Acho: three analysts and commenters who noted that the WNBA doesn’t have room for racism and appreciated that it was taken seriously. On another note, Acho believed that if this happened, saying racial remarks in a large crowd against Angel Reese simply provided space and opportunity.  She then uses Ogwumike’s apology against her, although Ogwumike verbally stated that those close to her shared their racial experiences, which added fuel to the fire. Overall, Kelly wanted to dismantle Angel’s experience and, indirectly, other African American WNBA athletes; however, doing so, her video, to some, might come across as prejudice, bias, and downright ignorance of the African American experience.
Thank you for reading my article; more to come soon, so be on the lookout for University of Houston women’s basketball starting on October 28. In the meantime, check out more of my articles; click here!