Chicago Sky guard Ariel Atkins has Angel Reese’s back.
Following the Sky’s 85-66 loss to the Liberty at Barclays Center, Reese — one of the young faces of the WNBA — was asked about the scrutiny she receives online.
After Reese answered, the veteran Atkins interjected with an impassioned defense of her sophomore teammate.
“This is a 23-year-old kid who handles herself with grace. Her crown is heavy,” Atkins said.
“So whatever else y’all want to come at her, for the way that she acts, she has to build the wall, she has to have the wall, because if she doesn’t, people will break her down. Not only just because of the way she looks, but because of the way she carries herself.”
Reese was moved to tears during the address by Atkins, who urged reporters to keep their questions focused on basketball.
“She knows who she is, and we ain’t going to break her down for that,” Atkins, 28, said.
The scene was reminiscent of the 2024 press-conference that followed LSU’s season-ending loss to Caitlin Clark-led Iowa.
Reese, then a senior at LSU, choked back tears as she described receiving “death threats” and other diatribe ever since the Tigers defeated Iowa in the 2023 national championship game. Hailey Van Lith, now a teammate on the Sky, was among the LSU players to comfort Reese that day.
The on-court rivalry between Reese, who is Black, and Clark, who is white, has continued in the pros, and it has been cited as the source of social-media toxicity.
Last month, the WNBA investigated an allegation that racist fan abuse was directed at Reese during the Sky’s 93-58 loss to Clark’s Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Clark was called for a flagrant foul on Reese in that game.
The league’s investigation was unable to verify the claims.
Tuesday’s question followed a season-best performance by Reese, who scored 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting with 11 rebounds against the Liberty amid a slow start to the year.
“I obviously don’t worry about what’s going on online,” Reese said Tuesday. “I get so much love in person. I haven’t ever had a negative encounter in person, ever, and I’ve been going through this for three years. I’ve never had an encounter in person that was negative. People online are behind a keyboard for a reason.”
This is Reese’s first season playing with Atkins, an eight-year veteran whom the Sky acquired in an offseason trade with the Washington Mystics.
“I know my teammates have my back, my coaches have my back, and that’s all that really matters,” Reese said. “I don’t have to prove anything to anybody besides myself and my teammates.”
