Angel Reese (center) goes after Caitlin Clark following a flagrant foul. Angel Reese (center) goes after Caitlin Clark following a flagrant foul. (Grace Smith/The Indianapolis Star, via Imagn Images.)
WNBABy Andrew Bucholtz on

While there are numerous stars in the WNBA who draw some attention from the wider sports world, Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever remains at the top of that list. And the attention paid to Clark only rises further still when she’s in conflict with Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky, who she’d previously battled with in college. Thus, a Clark foul on Reese in one of the WNBA’s season-opening weekend games Saturday was sure to draw comment, especially when it was deemed a flagrant and when Reese (along with Clark’s teammate Aliyah Boston) drew a technical for a response afterwards:

To start with, there was a lot of focus on Reese’s reaction in the replay:

Meanwhile, Clark downplayed this in a later interview with ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe, saying this was a “good take foul” that “every basketball player” would endorse:

And Reese was also pretty muted when asked about this after the game:

The wider world reaction has already gone well beyond “moving on,” though. And that’s not really that surprising considering the long–running conversations about Clark and Reese, with many of those discussing the dimension of race (whether that’s due to Dave Portnoy or not can be debated); that was expected from the time this game was listed on the schedule. Indeed, a Reese flagrant foul on Clark last June drew its own million takes. And many comments along those lines are surfacing again. Here’s some of the discussion that popped up there Saturday:

There also was a lot of conversation on how ESPN’s studio debate shows will inevitably cover this Monday, including (likely-accurate) predictions that they’ll focus on the foul over Clark’s 20-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist, four-block night and the Fever’s decisive 93-58 win:

The last point there is perhaps the key one. It’s rather absurd not only how much of the general-audience WNBA discourse has become centered just around Clark and Reese (sometimes with ignorance of the rest of the league and its history waved proudly, as Colin Cowherd did this week), but also how plays involving them receive outsize attention compared to what the play actually is. (And that’s not just about plays with both; last year saw Bob Costas note the strangeness of some of the coverage of fouls on both of these players from other opponents.)

It’s understandable that Clark (and to a lesser degree, Reese) have brought in a lot of new fans to the WNBA. And, along with that, they’ve brought in a lot of media interest, including from the broadest-of-the-broad hot take shows like First Take. Plays involving them are thus going to draw much more discussion than they actually deserve.

But it is remarkable to see this discussion playing out in real time, including with what look like very valid predictions on how the likes of First Take will take this over the top. And honestly, those predictions are possible because those studio shows have abandoned covering what’s actually going on in sports in favor of whatever convenient narratives they can latch on to. We’ll see if those predictions about how poorly they’ll cover this wind up proving true.

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.

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