Following their defeat to the Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky were penalised for their actions. One day after their 70-71 defeat, on Sunday, June 2, the WNBA declared that Reese will pay a $1,000 punishment. Angel “[failed] to make herself available to the media for interviews,” as stated by the league. A $5,000 punishment was also imposed on the Chicago Sky organisation for failing to make sure that all “players comply with WNBA media policies.”
There was additional drama surrounding this game because it featured the first-ever WNBA matchup between Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark. However, it was Chennedy Carter, Reese’s teammate, who ultimately made headlines for her on-court antics. Teammate Aliyah Boston was about to pass the ball to Caitlin when Carter struck Clark, knocking her to the ground. Reese was spotted cheering Carter’s foul on Clark after a timeout was called.
During a postgame press conference, the Texas native was questioned about the incident. Carter said, “next question,” refusing to talk about anything related to Caitlin Clark. Carter, nevertheless, later commented to a fan who was analysing the “postgame drama” on Instagram’s Threads app. “That’s that on that because besides three-point shooting, what does [Clark] bring to the table, man?” the 25-year-old said inquiring about Clark’s influence.
The WNBA increased Chennedy Carter’s foul on Caitlin to a flagrant-1 penalty due to Carter’s actions on the floor.
The Associated Press reports that Clark then stated, “It is what it is,” even though she wasn’t anticipating it, in a postgame interview. The game is physical.
“I spent my childhood hoops with the boys. You have to learn how to hold your own because it’s always been physical and fierce,” the phenomenon continued.
When Clark and the Chicago Sky play again on Sunday (June 16), she will have another opportunity to hold her own.