Angel Reese continues to be one of the most polarizing figures in sports. Not just the WNBA— sports. Her every move draws scrutiny from her fans and haters, and all sides of the media. Especially the latter.
In turn, she doesn’t trust them.
Reese quite literally said so. The 22-year-old rookie does not trust the media.
That was made abundantly clear during a feisty exchange with local Chicago reporters on Tuesday evening. She did not answer questions. She intentionally chose to keep her responses very short.
According to Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun Times, her response was simple. And yet, it spoke louder than anything more verbose.
A few questions in, it was clear that one- or two-word answers were the order of the day. And that something was wrong, even though Reese had essentially ignored a couple of questions by saying, dismissively, “I’m good.”
— Steve Greenberg
When asked to explain the two-word answers, Reese said exactly what was on her mind.
I know how y’all like to twist my words, so I’m just keeping it short and sweet […]
I can’t trust any of y’all. So I’m just letting you know — short and sweet.
— Angel Reese
It will be interesting to see if this approach continues through the next few weeks of the WNBA season before it breaks for the Olympics. Perhaps Reese was having a bad day and wasn’t having it. Maybe she was just trying to make a point and will pick back up next time. Maybe this is how she will handle press conferences indefinitely.
Regardless of what the future holds for Angel Reese with the media, the Chicago Sky’s front office would presumably prefer if its star player would be more gracious. Even if the constant commotion surrounding her antics draws more eyeballs to the team and the sport as a whole…
Head coach Teresa Weatherspoon isn’t worried about Reese’s stalemate. She is worried more about Reese. There is concern about her wellbeing.
I think sometimes we fail to realize what the athlete might think What is she thinking? How does she feel? I think sometimes we just fail to realize that because it’s almost like every time she speaks, there’s something wrong with what she says. There’s something wrong with what she does. That’s what it seems like. But what we do here as a team, that’s really all that matters.
— Teresa Witherspoon
Unfortunately, Weatherspoon’s mention of “what we do here as a team” doesn’t make things any better.
The Sky are one of the three-worst teams in the WNBA. Chicago is 4-9. What “we do here as a team,” right now, is lose.
As for Reese specifically, Weatherspoon made a subtle slip up that seemed to offer some insight.
She’s fine. She’s going to be fine. I mean, she’s fine.
— Teresa Weatherspoon
There is a discrepancy in that messaging. Is she fine or is she going to be fine. Is “fine” a good thing?
Reese is clearly struggling with the outside perspective and constant narratives about her character— even if she brought a lot of it upon herself. It is hard! This whole “I’m good” shtick seems like an attempt to slow down all of the chatter, but it isn’t doing any favors. It might actually make things worse…