Emotional Victory: Angel Reese’s Tribute to Dawn Staley Goes Viral!
What Angel Reese’s injury means to the Sky’s playoff hopes
By The Athletic Staff
A discussion on the impact of Angel Reese’s injury, her season and what it means moving forward for her, the Sky, and their playoff hopes. Then Zena leads Sabreena and Ben through four burning questions about the rest of the WNBA season.
Does anyone want the eighth seed?
Who looks the scariest heading into the playoffs?
Who poses the biggest threat to the New York Liberty?
What do the Aces need to do to put themselves in position to get back to the finals?
Hosts: Zena Keita
With: Sabreena Merchant and Ben Pickman
The Athletic Women’s Basketball show publishes every Tuesday morning. If you liked this episode, make sure you subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Angel Reese and her Chicago Sky teammates might have unintentionally created a new meme during a demoralizing loss to the Washington Mystics.
Despite a season-ending injury, Angel was courtside Wednesday as the Sky hosted the Mystics in a game with significant playoff implications. Chicago needed to win to widen the gap between Washington and the Atlanta Dream as all three teams race toward the final spot for postseason play.
What could have been a tremendous victory turned into a nightmare as the Mystics, who have been surging, beat Chicago by over 30 points. One WNBA fan caught the moment when Angel, Diamond DeShields and Elizabeth Williams hung their heads on the bench, seemingly embarrassed or disgusted by what they were witnessing.
Another fan screenshotted some of the clip as the video began to permeate the internet, potentially unlocking a new meme.
The still shot seemingly encapsulated how many Sky fans likely felt watching the game, and they did not hesitate to comment on it.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert touched a nerve with players when she responded to a question about online abuse from fans toward stars Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark by suggesting the increased attention was good for the league.
Why it matters: The WNBA’s popularity has surged. But so have the vitriol targeting some of the league’s best-known players and tensions over the way WNBA stars are paid and treated relative to their NBA peers.
Driving the news: Asked on CNBC about the fact that social media discourse between fans of Chicago Sky forward Reese and Indiana Fever guard Clark had often devolved into racism and misogyny, Engelbert alluded to the benefits of divided fans:
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