Angel Reese grateful for support from WNBA, Sky

May 20 - Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese thanked the WNBA and her team for their support as an investigation into verbal abuse directed at the 23-year-old during Saturday's loss to the Indiana Fever.
Reese was praised on Tuesday by head coach Tyler Marsh for her handling of the incident, who said his team will continue to be there for the second-year star.
"Obviously it's tough," Reese said. "But I think I have a great support system. I'm loved by so many people and obviously, in the moment it is hard to hear. But my support system is great.
"I've gone through so many different things in the past couple of years in my life, but I think just having the support and this love, and being a part of an organization that really supports me and loves me is something I just couldn't imagine not being a part of."
The league launched an investigation into conduct after social media users alleged that the ABC/ESPN broadcast of the game at Indianapolis picked up the incident in question. One video showed a male fan -- wearing a red replica Caitlin Clark jersey with matching shorts -- sitting courtside and making high-pitched noises while Reese shot a free throw with 4:38 left in the third quarter.
On Sunday, the WNBA released a statement saying that it was "aware of the allegations" and looking into the matter.
"There's no place for that in our game, there's no place for that in society," Fever guard Caitlin Clark said Monday. "We certainly want every person that comes into our arena, whether player, whether fan, to have a great experience."
Clark added that she did not personally hear any hateful comments from fans.
Marsh said the Sky will stand behind Reese while shifting the focus to returning to the court Thursday to face the New York Liberty.
"I mean, for her, it's about basketball, so I think that's where her mind is at," Marsh said. "And for us we want to be as locked in as possible to our game plan and what we want to do moving forward into Thursday. I mean, Angel's a winner. Angel's a competitor. And she wants to be there for her teammates and we're certainly there for her as well."
--Field Level Media

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The Guardian

an hour ago

• The Guardian

Making Orlando proud: English coaching duo's unlikely route to NWSL glory

To followers of women's football in the United States, they are the English coaching duo who have delivered unprecedented success to a previously trophyless club; to English football fans with particularly sharp memories, they are the former Middlesbrough and Derby youngsters who left to play in the MLS. To each other, Seb Hines and Giles Barnes are just old mates, stretching back to their days sharing a room together on England youth international camps. 'It brings an unwavering trust. We can challenge each other and there's no ill intent behind it,' is how Barnes sums up the benefits of a head coach and his assistant being longtime friends. Yet the unlikely chain of events that led to their reunion in Florida is almost as improbable as Orlando Pride leaping from 10th place to the title in two years. Hines may never have moved to the United States had it not been for a call to Barnes. When Hines was contemplating leaving Middlesbrough in 2015, it was Barnes – playing for Houston Dynamo at the time – who helped make up his mind. 'I asked Giles: 'What's the lifestyle like? Is it right for my family? And what's the standard like?' And he sold it to me. He said: 'This is a growing league. You get to play against some of the best players in the world.' Maybe if I hadn't had that conversation, I might be stacking shelves in England or something,' recalls Hines, who knew he had made the right choice on making his Orlando City debut in front of 62,510 alongside Kaká. Barnes's own life-changing move to the MLS had come three years earlier, after a string of serious injuries while at Doncaster after spells at West Brom and his initial breakthrough at Derby. 'As a young kid, I had a lot going for me. Then I got injured pretty severely to the point where I was told to retire,' Barnes says. 'After I came back from knee surgery, I snapped my Achilles twice. When I was playing for Doncaster, I wasn't enjoying football and it was purely because I didn't feel like the same player. I was still young and there were still all these expectations and I never really recovered properly from my injury, and that sat with me in a dark place for a long time. I didn't feel football in my body any more. I was a bit heartbroken. I came to the end of that season and I told my dad I was done with football. 'I sat on the couch for I don't know how long and then I got a random phone call from an agent, saying: 'Hey, how do you feel about playing for LA Galaxy?' and I thought: 'OK you've got my attention'. I ended up going to Houston and just enjoying my life, in a new city where no one's asking: 'What happened to Giles Barnes, the wonder kid?' and I could just enjoy football. I started to feel a little better in myself as a human when I started to get the love back for football. I came to MLS in a dark time of my life and in my career and it saved me.' Barnes would go on to play for Jamaica and have spells in Canada, Mexico and India before getting a break in coaching after the former USA manager Bob Bradley invited him to join Toronto FC during pre-season while, over in Florida, his old roommate's own coaching career was set for an unexpected twist. Hines had been working on the backroom staff at Orlando Pride when, in 2022, the NWSL club placed then head coach Amanda Cromwell on leave and Hines was promoted to interim head coach. Cromwell was later sacked after 'engaging in retaliatory conduct' towards players who had complained against her in a previous investigation. The team needed a reset and Hines knew who to call. 'It was a no-brainer to bring Giles in,' Hines says. 'We started out with the culture. We made training fun and enjoyable, but hard work as well. We have to make sure it's enjoyable because you can't hate playing football, it's the best job in the world.' Barnes adds: 'It was simple – I wanted to help him, he's such a good guy. I did have some questions, because the club had been in a little bit of turmoil, they'd had a lot of investigations, and I was just like: 'Seb, what's it going to take?' and he said: 'We need to just get the culture right and it will be good'. And that was it.' Not only did they change the culture, in 2024 Orlando won the regular-season title and then the playoffs, becoming the first professional sports team from Orlando to win any major trophy 'There are some big, big clubs here,' says Hines, 'so to bring a championship to Orlando was an extremely proud moment. I think everyone can remember the hard times that Orlando Pride have been through [and we] changed the perception by winning both the shield and championship. 'It was almost like a rebuild. The investment from the ownership group has been tremendous, really trusting us. Everything has come together nicely, on an upward trajectory. Now it's about trying to sustain success and it not just being a one-off. We've set a standard and expectation now.' Before that, Hines had already made NWSL history by becoming the league's first Black head coach, something that surprised him: 'I didn't know until I got the job. The league had been going for [more than] 10 years so it came as a bit of a shock. Of course, you would like to see a lot more Black coaches or minorities getting those opportunities to be successful in multiple leagues, and I want to be a role model and to make sure everyone can have the same aspirations.' A former England youth captain, Hines worked under two old England managers, Steve McLaren and Gareth Southgate, at Middlesbrough as well as the former Scotland manager Gordon Strachan and Tony Mowbray – 'He was great for me, he trusted me and helped me develop' – and finally Aitor Karanka. 'It's not a bad list of coaches,' Hines says. 'I've been able to take little pieces away from them which I've tried to implement here.' As the NWSL approaches its halfway break – for the Euros – Orlando Pride sit second in the table and Barnes adds: 'It's not just about winning one championship. It's 'can you win another one?'' Barnes and Hines have no intention of stopping.

Daily Mail​

an hour ago

• Daily Mail​

'Blindsided' glamorous basketball reporter breaks silence on being fired over Caitlin Clark posts

Basketball influencer Rachel DeMita has broken her silence on the speculation shrouding her employment status with the Big3 League. The 35-year-old confirmed Friday evening that she had been fired by the 3-on-3 basketball league just days after posting about Caitlin Clark while on the clock. In a candid video shared to social media, DeMita, who is engaged to former NBA star Andre Roberson, admitted that the posts had led to her dismissal but revealed that she was left 'a bit blindsided.' 'The rumors are true, I was fired from the Big 3 — I was terminated from my job with the Big 3,' she announced. 'I can say it, I was terminated this week.' She went on to explain that her three posts on X about the WNBA phenom came during Saturday's clash between the Indiana Fever and New York Liberty, while four Big3 games were also taking place in Chicago. She also admitted to sharing additional posts about the Fever-Liberty matchup, but only once the Big3 broadcast had finished. addressing the rumors. — Rachel A DeMita (@RADeMita) June 20, 2025 The posts appear to have been the final straw for the league, which was founded in-part by rapper Ice Cube, as it deemed them and the WNBA fixture to be in direct competition with its own. DeMita also claimed that the Big3 informed her in a letter that they were cutting ties over her failure to promote 'only league games.' She read a letter from the Big3, which stated: 'It has come to Big3's attention that Miss DeMita was posting on her social media platforms during this weekend's Big3 games and promoting the competing New York Liberty versus Indiana Fever WNBA game that was being broadcast at the same time. 'The league is extremely dismayed and disappointed by Miss DeMita's severe lapse in judgement while performing services for the league during which time she should have reasonably known that she should have been promoting only league games. 'The league provided her with unique access and opportunity to be a focal point on national broadcast, so management was completely taken aback.' Two of the Big3's matchups Saturday were televised on CBS and the others on Vice. Meanwhile, the Fever's upset of the reigning WNBA champions was shown on ABC, drawing the third-most viewership of any WNBA matchup ever aired on the network. 'I did feel bummed that there wasn't any discussion prior to me prior to me being fired,' she said. 'I didn't hear from anybody, there was no talks about it, and I wasn't under the impression that those tweets would do any severe harm to the Big3.' She later added, 'I'm not making excuses, I'll take it on the chin, that's my bad, I apologize for that.' DeMita acknowledged her error and accepted full culpability but still maintained she believed there should have been a discussion before her outright dismissal. DeMita, a former Old Dominion basketball player who has one million followers on Instagram, first joined Big3 in June 2024. Judging by her Instagram posts, the social-media personality is also clearly a huge fan of Clark, who she watched in the flesh as recently as May 3. DeMita shared a photo of herself wearing the Fever sensation's No. 22 jersey at a game in Indiana that day, while including the caption: 'oh it's going to be a fun season'. She has been engaged to ex-Brooklyn Nets and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Roberson, 33, since December 2024, roughly six years since they started dating.

Daily Mail​

2 hours ago

• Daily Mail​

Scottie Scheffler BOOSTED to EVENS to win the Travelers Championship - as the joint leader returns to action for Round 3 of the PGA Tour event today

Sky Bet are offering a Price Boost for today's golf action - as Round 3 of the PGA Tour's Travelers Championship gets underway. The Price Boost requires world number one Scottie Scheffler to win the tournament outright. The odds for that particular bet have been enhanced from 10/11 to 1/1. Scheffler is currently one of three players tied for first - with the American sitting at 9-under. He is alongside fellow countryman Justin Thomas and England's Tommy Fleetwood - with the pair also 9-under after strong showings in Round 2. Thomas and Fleetwood shot 6-under and 5-under respectively on Friday, while Scheffler shot 1-under. For those anticipating Thomas and Fleetwood to continue their impressive form and compete for the title - Thomas is a 5/1 second-favourite with Sky Bet, while Fleetwood is a 11/2 third-favourite. Sky Bet favourites to win the Travelers Championship: Scottie Scheffler WAS 10/11 NOW 1/1 Justin Thomas 5/1 Tommy Fleetwood 11/2 Jason Day 14/1 Rory McIlroy 18/1