This week, former WNBA player and two-time college basketball national champion Val Whiting took to social media to shed light on disturbing racist messages directed at the Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese.
These hate-filled messages, allegedly sent by fans of Caitlin Clark, were brought to light by Reese’s mother, who is also named Angel.
Whiting revealed that Reese’s mother sent her a screenshot of two racially charged messages. “Angel Reese gets a lot of racially motivated hate. I believe she gets this more than any player in the league. Here is one screenshot that her mother shared with me from a guy named William Martina,” Whiting wrote on X on July 9.
One of the messages from Martina read, “Sorry but you can’t dress up as anything but you are what you are. thug comes to mind..,go Caitlin.” Whiting pointed out that Martina used his real name and email address to send the hateful message to the Angel Reese Foundation.
Another message, from an unidentified sender, was even more revolting: “Black b—ch you disgust me with your silly jealous antics let your daughter shine and [stop] teaching her to be jealous to get attention! Stop being a black ratchet gutter b—ch s black women look bad and stop talking about cc she got that swag she changing the game be glad your daughter got a chance to even play in the W!! Cuz if it wasn’t for cc nobody would know your low gpa having daughter.”
Whiting emphasized that these messages came from self-proclaimed Caitlin Clark fans. “William Martina is the president of a company yet he took time to racially bully and harass a young black woman. Angel’s mom said that they get these type of emails and text messages every week,” Whiting said.
The GPA comment was made in reference to allegations made from Kia Brooks, the mother of her former teammate and friend, Flau’jae Johnson. She alleged that Reese held a 2.0 GPA. However, despite these claims, Reese graduated in May.
Whiting acknowledged that Caitlin Clark has also received race-based backlash, but she shared the post to highlight the extreme nature of the hate Reese frequently endures. “Please note that I realize Caitlin Clark has received race-based hate as well. And some of that has come from Angel Reese stans but this post is about the extreme nature of what Angel Reese goes through,” Whiting stated.
Fans debated the extent of hate both players receive, with one person arguing, “I honestly don’t think the comparison is even close. Most of what Caitlin has been mentioned by the other side is white privilege.” Another person added, “No one bought cc race into play that was the cc fans. Cc fans bought race up to undermine Angel Reese because they knew they were in the wrong for attacking her after the do you see me situation.”
Reese’s mother has previously defended her daughter against criticism. In May, she responded to backlash over a since-deleted X post by Angel celebrating Chicago’s win against the New York Liberty. Reese posted, “And that’s on getting a WIN in a packed area not just ’cause of one player on our charter flight.”
The post was perceived as a dig at Clark, but her mother clarified that the family’s issue was with the media, not Clark. “She was not attacking CC but bc you & the rest of those ‘children of the corn’ folks thought she was & once again sending her racist & vile comments she did. Her comment was directed towards the media but of course you’re about clicks,” Whiting wrote.
Despite the ongoing criticism, Reese continues to dominate the basketball court. On July 10, she achieved her 14th consecutive double-double, setting a new WNBA record.
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