A flagrant foul between the WNBA’s Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky and Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever has sparked reactions from sports analysts, including attacks on each other.
The latest: Ryan Clark suggested that former NFL star Robert Griffin III’s take isn’t relatable since he is married to a white woman.
The rivalry between the basketball stars, which dates back to college, was showcased during a May 17 game. Reese received heightened—and racist—backlash from fans over her reaction to what was labeled a flagrant foul by Clark, who pushed Reese.
On X and his Outta Pocket with RGIII podcast, Griffin claimed “it’s so obvious Angel Reese hates Caitlin Clark.”
He added on X, “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. I know what hatred looks like. Angel Reese HATES Caitlin Clark. Not some basketball rivalry hate either. Hate.”
Clark defended Reese during a segment on The Pivot podcast, calling Griffin’s “knows hate when ‘he’ see(s) it” irresponsible. While speaking to his co-host, Fred Taylor, he said Griffin isn’t having conversations at home about the struggles of Black women and Black women athletes.
“Caitlin Clark is the most important player in the WNBA. And a ton of her fandom has come along with some racial bias or some racial pieces to why people love her so much,” Clark said. “And so now, if you’re RGIII, when is the last time within your household you’ve had a conversation about what she’s dealing with? You haven’t been able to do that because in both of your marriages, you’ve been married to white women.”
The ESPN analyst reminisced that when he worked with Griffin “he would make all of these sort of corny jokes about milk and how much he loved it and how important it was. And he always points out on social media the color of his wife’s white skin. As if the color of her skin is what makes her special. As if the color of her skin is what makes her a good wife.
“I’ve met the lady, I’ve had a conversation with her,” Clark added. “I think she’s more than that. But it also leads to what Black women deal with a lot from Black men who have chose to date or marry outside of their race. They always feel like they have to go the extra mile to prop up the woman that they married or the woman that they’re with over Black women by denigrating Black women.”
Social media users supported Clark’s claims by reposting some of Griffin’s past posts. One user screenshot four posts where the former Washington Guardians player highlighted his love for “milk,” including one from January 11, also known as National Milk Day.
It wasn’t long before Griffin caught wind of Clark’s comments.
“Let me be clear. It is wildly inappropriate, wrong, and extremely low to weaponize and attack a person’s wife, marriage, and their family because you disagree with a sports take,” he wrote in a lengthy social media post. “I didn’t make it personal with Angel Reese. I didn’t drag her family. I didn’t question her soul. I spoke about basketball. But Ryan? You crossed the line. You made it personal and some.”
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