Angel Reese, Sheryl Swoopes Expose Who’s to Blame for Fueling Caitlin Clark Hate

It seems neither Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese nor WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes can say or do anything these days without it somehow relating back to Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark.

Many believe Clark and Reese — the No. 1 and 2 rookies in the WNBA this season, respectively — don’t like each other, which only fuels speculation that both have taken subtle jabs at one another through social media.

Conversely, Swoopes has been a bit more forthcoming with her issues with Clark, though she still maintains her remarks are not a personal attack against the AP WNBA Rookie of the Year.

Both recently gave their side of the drama surrounding themselves and Clark on Reese’s podcast “Unapologetically Angel,” including who’s to blame for keeping the fire burning as long as it has.

“I feel like it’s really weird, and it goes back to a lot of these men in media all of a sudden have opinions about women’s basketball,” Reese said . “[They] never had opinions about women’s basketball before, but all of a sudden, everybody from different angles has an opinion on women’s sports. They don’t watch the full game, they only see the highlights.”

“I think I know why they do it, because it’s like anytime you say Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, people are like, ‘Oh my goodness, they don’t like each other, so let’s see what this is about,’” Swoopes added. “When you say Sheryl Swoopes and Caitlin Clark, it’s like, ‘Oh my goodness, Sheryl doesn’t like her so let’s see what this is about,’ and all of that’s stupid to me. It’s not true, it’s stupid.”

While both have solid points about mainstream media fanning the flames about each’s personal rivalry with Clark, both have also done their part to keep fueling that speculation as well.

Though Reese hasn’t said anything negative about Clark publicly, she did make head-turning comments on her debut podcast about Clark’s fans harassing her, leaving her death threats and stalking her at her house, among other things.

Swoopes has spoken about Clark several times on her “Queens of the Court” podcast, and she most recently came under fire for claiming Clark wasn’t dominant during her rookie season despite finishing fourth in voting for the AP WNBA MVP and being the unanimous winners for AP WNBA Rookie of the Year award.

Related: Sheryl Swoopes Explains Real Reason She Was Absent from Caitlin Clark Broadcast vs. Wings