Angel Reese: Accepting 'villain' role 'backfired on me'

The Chicago Sky's Angel Reese, wearing a black sleeve on her left leg, bends forward while looking to pass the ball.

Sept. 27, 2024 2:04 PM PT

Angel Reese said earlier this year she is willing to “take the villain role” in the interest of “growing women’s basketball.”

Now, however, the Chicago Sky star feels that approach has “backfired on me.”

The WNBA released a statement Wednesday night saying it “will not tolerate racist, derogatory, or threatening comments” toward anyone affiliated with the league, after being called out by Connecticut Sun star Alyssa Thomas about hate speech directed toward her and other players on social media.

On Thursday, Reese started a series of posts on X that seemed to address the media’s coverage of the matter.

“Y’all know i’ve been going through this for the last 2 years but was told ‘save the tears’ & ‘stop playing victim,’” Reese wrote. “Y’all a little late to the party and could have tried to put out this fire way before it started.”

In a second post, Reese wrote: “I’ve never in my life had privilege but I definitely know the power I have through my platform. That didn’t come overnight. I grew that on my OWN. With that being said, I will continue to use my voice in the right way & say what’s right even though it has backfired on me to be this ‘villain’. I won’t stop!!”

Reese continued in a third post.

“For the past 2 years, the media has benefited from my pain & me being villainized to create a narrative. They allowed this. This was beneficial to them,” she wrote. “I sometimes share my experiences of things that have happened to me but I’ve also allowed this to happen to me for way too long and now other players in this league are dealing with & experiencing the same things.

“This isn’t ok at all. Anything beyond criticism about playing the game we love is wrong. I’m sorry to all the players that have/continue to experience the same things I have.… This is why I started my podcast. To take my voice back and create the narrative of who I really am. At the end of the day, I don’t want an apology nor do I think this will ever stop but something has to change.”

As a star player at Louisiana State, Reese developed an on-court rivalry with then-Iowa star Caitlin Clark, now with the Indiana Fever. In April, Reese talked about the trash talk that went both ways between her and Clark, including the gesture Reese made toward the Hawkeyes standout during the 2023 national championship game that received widespread attention.

“That’s fine. I’ll take the villain role,” Reese said. “I’ll take the hit for it, but I know we’re growing women’s basketball. If this is the way we’re going to do it, then this is the way we’re going to do it. You either like it or you don’t.”

Reese expressed a similar sentiment in June, as she and Clark were in the midst of celebrated rookie seasons that helped the WNBA’s popularity soar.

“Look where women’s basketball is. People are talking about women’s basketball that you never would think would be talking about women’s basketball. People are pulling up to games, we got celebrities coming to games, sold out arenas, like just because of one single game,” Reese said, referring to the 2023 championship game.

“And just looking at that, I’ll take that role. I’ll take the bad guy role, and I’ll continue to take that on and be that for my teammates. And if I want to be that and I know I’ll go down in history, I’ll look back in 20 years and be like, yeah, the reason why we watching women’s basketball is not just because of one person. It’s because of me too, and I want you all to realize that.”

Also on Friday, the Women’s National Basketball Players Assn. released a statement calling for more integrity and professionalism in the way the league is covered by the media.

“Instead of demonstrating the cornerstones of journalism ethics like integrity, objectivity, and a commitment to truth, you have chosen to be indecent and downright insincere,” the union said in a statement that is addressed “to unprofessional members of the media like Christine Brennan.”

Brennan, a USA Today columnist, has not responded to the statement on her social media accounts. USA Today Sports posted a statement on X from executive editor Roxanna Scott in support of Brennan.

“Christine Brennan is well regarded as an advocate for women and athletes, but first and foremost, she’s a journalist,” Scott wrote.