People are talking about the Indiana Fever's lopsided victory over the Chicago Sky in their first 2025 regular season game, 93-58, on May 17, but something that happened on the court is upstaging that win. During the third quarter of the game, Fever star Caitlin Clark had a flagrant foul on Angel Reese, and some are making it into a pretty massive deal.
Following the game, Clark told ESPN's Holly Rowe that there was "nothing malicious" about the foul and that it wasn't personal.
"Let's not make it something that it's not," Clark said after the game. "It was just a good play on the basketball. I'm not sure what the ref saw to upgrade it, and that's up to their discretion. It's a take foul to put them at the free-throw line. I've watched a lot of basketball in my life, that's exactly what it was. I wasn't trying to do anything malicious. That's not the type of player I am."
But, not everyone is looking at the incident so innocently. Former NFL star Robert Griffin III reacted to the incident by saying that it's obvious to him that Reese "hates" Clark.
"After watching Caitlin Clark's flagrant foul on Angel Reese and the aftermath, there is no way Angel Reese can continue the lie that she doesn't dislike Caitlin Clark," Griffin stated in a post on X. "I know what hatred looks like. Angel Reese HATES Caitlin Clark. Not some basketball rivalry hate either. Hate."
Following the game, crew chief Roy Gulbeyan stated that Clark had pushed Reese with her hand.
"The foul on Clark met the criteria for flagrant foul 1, for wind up, impact, and follow through for the extension of the left hand to Reese's back, which is deemed not a legitimate basketball play, and therefore deemed unnecessary contact," he said. "After the foul, there is a physical taunt technical on (Aliyah) Boston and a verbal technical on Reese, which offset."
Related: Chicago Sky Coach Sends Bold 'Promise' After Blowout Loss to Caitlin Clark, Fever
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This story was originally published May 18, 2025 at 4:42 PM.