It wasn’t too long ago that Kevin Durant implored ex-NFLers in sports media to stay in their lanes.
In fact, it was only a few days ago. Durant called out “hot take artist” Emmanuel Acho for claiming the Boston Celtics fared better against the New York Knicks with Jayson Tatum out of the lineup. The Celtics lost, 119-81, in a Game 6 loss at Madison Square Garden, with the 27-year-old Tatum sidelined due to a ruptured Achilles.
It’s funny because these former football players turned talking heads, like Acho, have been all over basketball hot takes lately, and the latest involves Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark.
It’s not just Acho. It’s Robert Griffin III. And it’s Keyshawn Johnson.
And what you get is RG3, now with Fox Sports, claiming Reese hates Clark.
He’s not the only one making the claim, but he definitely used it as engagement bait before doubling down and insisting that Angel Reese’s feelings toward Caitlin Clark go far beyond your typical sports rivalry.
“After watching Caitlin Clark’s flagrant foul on Angel Reese and the aftermath, there is no way Angel Reese can continue the lie that she doesn’t dislike Caitlin Clark,” Griffin wrote on X. “I know what hatred looks like. Angel Reese HATES Caitlin Clark. Not some basketball rivalry hate either. Hate.”
This all blew up after Clark committed a take foul on Reese, sparking some bad blood, a flagrant foul, and some technicals. Sure, it was just a basketball play, but given the subjects involved, it quickly and not so quietly took on a life of its own, as Griffin poured gasoline on the already smoldering fire.
He even went as far as to say Reese is the WNBA’s Draymond Green, while Clark is Michael Jordan.
And if that wasn’t enough, the ex-NFL quarterback tripled down on his Outta Pocket with RGIII podcast on Sunday morning, insisting that Reese hates the Indiana Fever guard and that her so-called hatred for Clark is rooted in jealousy.
“I know what hatred looks like,” Griffin said. “Angel Reese hates Caitlin Clark. Not some basketball rivalry hate, either. The reason I said that is because when somebody that you don’t like says something to you, you automatically always take it to the most extreme. You always automatically say, ‘Oh, they meant to harm me with that statement.’ But, if your friend or somebody you’re cool with made that very same statement, none of us would be so quick to run to judgment to say, ‘Oh, that was negative.’ We would question what it was. We would react differently.
“So why do I think Angel Reese hates Cailtin Clark? It could be the fact that Aliyah Boston had to save Angel Reese from ending her career… After the foul, Caitlin Clark put on Angel Reese, and Angel Reese tried to hit her. But if it wasn’t for Aliyah Boston putting her arms in the way, Angel Reese would not be playing basketball anymore, because she was going to sucker punch Caitlin Clark. Now, you tell me a time when you’ve seen somebody get fouled on a basketball court in a professional league, where they try to almost sucker punch somebody that they were friends with, because of a hard foul?”
It’s fair to say Reese hasn’t shown much warmth toward Clark, and she has avoided talking about her plenty of times, too. But whether she truly hates Clark is in the eye of the beholder. Griffin seems to think so, and her actions on Saturday might suggest as much.
But it’s obviously up for interpretation, and we’ll hear plenty about it on First Take this week. Just not from RG3, who might still be at the Worldwide Leader if Stephen A. Smith had his druthers.