The WNBA was plunged further into an ugly racism scandal on Tuesday night when Angel Reese reposted an inflammatory TikTok trolling her ‘white gyal’ rival Caitlin Clark.
Their bitter clash in the first WNBA game of the season sparked an instant WNBA investigation into alleged racist abuse, with teammates forced to jump in and keep the league’s two biggest names apart on the court.
In the Fever’s win over the Sky, the headline-grabbing moment came when Clark slapped across Reese’s arm, sending her to the ground and sparking a melee when Reese then made a beeline for Clark.
While Reese later said the foul from Clark was a ‘basketball play,’ she’s evidently still thinking about the moment, reposting a clip which has sparked another meltdown online.
The video included a screengrab of an X post which was captioned: ‘White gyal running from the fade’, and a photo of Clark walking away from Reese during their altercation. The re-post no longer appears to be on Reese’s TikTok feed.
On social media, the post sent fans into a frenzy, with one noting: ‘Why is the WNBA okay with race baiting when it’s a white woman?’
Angel Reese was incensed at Caitlin Clark after a physical foul on Saturday
On Tuesday, Reese re-posted a TikTok trolling ‘white gyal’ Clark for ‘running from the fade’
Clark sent Reese crashing to the floor as she slapped across her arm to prevent a layup
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Another added: ‘@WNBA. I found the racist you’re looking for: AKA Angel Reese.’
A third then noted: ‘WNBA needs to suspend her already. Do something to protect Clark or she’ll be gone and you’ll be back to being irrelevant. I’ve never seen a league try and crash out like the WNBA! No place for racism!’
Earlier in the day, Reese posted a short clip of herself silently looking at the camera while the Beyonce song ‘Formation’ plays.
The short video includes the lyrics: ‘You know you that b***h when you cause all this conversation. Always stay gracious, best revenge is your paper.’
Following the bust-up in Saturday’s game, the WNBA announced it was investigating alleged racial abuse directed at Reese from Fever fans.
‘The WNBA strongly condemns racism, hate, and discrimination in all forms – they have no place in our league or in society. We are aware of the allegations and are looking into the matter,’ the league said.
Reese said after practice on Tuesday that ‘there’s no place in this league for that.’
‘I think the WNBA and our team and our organization have done a great job supporting me,’ she told reporters. ‘I’ve had communication from everyone, from so many people across this league. It could happen to me, it can happen to anyone. And I think they’ve done a good job supporting us in this.’
Clark also made her feelings clear on the alleged abuse, telling reporters: ‘There’s no place for that in our game, there’s no place for that in society.’
The WNBA is investigating claims Reese was targeted with racist abuse in Saturday’s game
Reese had earlier posted a clip to her TikTok, making her feelings clear through song lyrics
Notably, Sky coach Tyler Marsh said the team found out about the allegations when everyone else did, and indicated they were not aware of any hate speech during the game.
During an in-game interview with ESPN over the weekend, Clark said there was ‘nothing malicious’ about her foul on Reese.
‘It’s just a good take foul,’ she said. ‘You know, either Angel gets a wide open two points, or we send them to the free-throw line.’
The bitter feud has also extended further than just the WNBA, with ESPN analyst Ryan Clark now in a racially-fueled back-and-forth with fellow TV star Robert Griffin III.
Their war of words began when Griffin posted on social media that Reese ‘HATES’ Clark, noting: ‘I know what hatred looks like. Not some basketball rivalry hate either. Hate.’
ESPN star Ryan Clark has ignited a war of words with former NFL teammate Robert Griffin III
Clark dismissed Griffin’s criticism of Angel Reese because he’s married to a white woman
In response, Clark claimed that Griffin is not in a position to comment on black women because he has twice been married to a white woman, including his current partner Grete, who is Estonian.
The Griffins have since posted a TikTok video in which Grete jokingly tries to attack the camera, alongside the caption ‘when someone has something to say to my non-confrontational husband.’
It has also been reported that Clark’s ESPN colleagues want the network to take action against him for his insults about Griffin’s interracial marriage.
Reese and Clark, meanwhile, will play against each other again on June 7 when the Sky host the Fever.
The pair met four times in their rookie WNBA season, with regular on-court clashes sparking a rivalry that continues to grow – despite both of them trying to dampen it.
Saturday’s incident was the latest instalment in a long list of clashes between the two players
Reese made contact with Clark’s head as she tried to hit the ball in a WNBA game last season
Clark has now won four of their five meetings since they turned pro, and the tone has already been set for a feisty 2025 WNBA season.
Their rivalry dates back to their college days, when Clark was at Iowa and Reese at LSU.
In the 2023 championship game in 2023, Reese pointed her ring finger in Clark’s face, which has ultimately become the catalyst for the rise in popularity of women’s basketball.
Both Clark and Reese were named WNBA All-Stars during their rookie seasons, while Clark won Rookie of the Year, with Reese second in the voting.