Reese, who is Black, and Clark, who is white, met for the seventh time in their ongoing — and much-talked-about — rivalry.
Clark won the league’s Rookie of the Year Award last season with Reese finishing second.
“It’s super loud in here, and though I didn’t hear anything, I think that’s why they’re doing the investigation,” Clark said.
That doesn’t mean nothing happened, so I’ll just trust the league’s investigation, and I’m sure they’ll do the right thing.” Both teams also have issued statements supporting the investigation and so has the WNBA Players Union.
“I told the team, obviously, we’re going to cooperate fully with the investigation,” White said Monday.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Fever player Caitlin Clark says she supports the WNBA’s investigation into the racist remarks made by fans about Angel Reese during Saturday’s season-opening 93-58 victory over the Chicago Sky because it was too loud inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The league had not publicly named the target of the taunts or the person who made the accusations, so an individual with knowledge of the matter confirmed the details to The Associated Press on Sunday under condition of anonymity.
Black Reese and white Clark met for the seventh time in their long-running, much-discussed rivalry. Last season, Clark took home the league’s Rookie of the Year Award, while Reese came in second.
Following practice on Monday, Clark discussed the accusations in public for the first time. Atlanta will play Indiana on Tuesday night.
Clark stated, “I believe they are conducting the investigation because it’s really noisy in here, even though I didn’t hear anything.”. “They are investigating it for that reason. I’ll just have faith in the league’s investigation and know they’ll act appropriately because that doesn’t mean nothing happened. “”.
Along with the WNBA Players Union, both teams have released statements endorsing the investigation.
They reached a crescendo when, with 4:38 remaining in the third quarter, Clark slapped Reese’s arm to keep her from giving up an open layup, causing her to walk to the free-throw line. Reese was jeered during player introductions. After Reese lost the ball and went down on the court, she got up and tried to approach Clark as she was leaving.
Following a review of the replay, the referees increased Clark’s foul to a flagrant 1 after Fever center Aliyah Boston interfered with play. Both Boston and Reese received technical fouls.
In their postgame news conferences, Reese, Clark, Sky coach Tyler Marsh, and Fever coach Stephanie White all referred to it as a basketball play, but none of them mentioned hearing what league officials called potentially “hateful” remarks.
On Monday, White stated, “I told the team, obviously, we’re going to cooperate fully with the investigation.”. But whether at home or on the road, that has no place in our league. It’s irrelevant. We would like to encourage our players and staff to acknowledge it immediately if it is heard, seen, or anything similar. “”.
The Fever tied the second-largest victory margin in the team’s history as Clark finished the game with her third career triple double (20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists). Following a wrist injury that ended her season in September, Reese scored 12 points and pulled down 17 rebounds in her first regular-season game.
Throughout the season, the league also introduced “No Space for Hate,” a multifaceted initiative aimed at eradicating hate and fostering respect in all WNBA settings, including online and in arenas.
Four areas are the focus of the league: improving technology to identify hateful remarks on the internet; putting more focus on league, team, and arena security measures; bolstering mental health resources; and standing up to hate.
This will be the first significant test of it for the league.
“That is not appropriate for our game or our society, and we definitely want everyone who enters our arena, whether they are a player or a fan, to have a fantastic time,” Clark stated. I’m grateful that the league is conducting that investigation and that the Fever organization has been leading the charge on this since day one. We’ll let the investigation team see if they uncover anything and, if so, take appropriate action. “”.
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