The season opener for Fever and Sky produced another record watching game. It drew a record 2.7 million average viewers and peaked at 3.1 million viewers as the most-watched WNBA regular season game in 25 years. Yet, the narrative after the game was not about Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark’s performance of a double-double and triple-double, respectively. The focus shifted to alleged abuses thrown at the Sky forward.

A hard foul in the third quarter from the Fever guard was later upgraded to a flagrant foul. Clark tried to swat the ball away from Reese to stop her from an easy bucket. The officials saw it called a foul, and it led to a fan reaction that nobody expected. As per multiple reports, every time Angel Reese went to the line to shoot free throws, fans booed her and allegedly directed racist slurs as well. That’s why the league stepped in with its investigation.  “The WNBA strongly condemns racism, hate, and discrimination in all forms — they have no place in our league or in society. We are aware of the allegations and are looking into the matter.” 

The W also mentioned they won’t share updates until the case is closed. Naturally, the topic of discussion after the ending of game 1 has been about the investigation. But Rashad McCants, who has been a vocal supporter of Clark, couldn’t help but get involved in the situation. He wrote on X, “Hmmmmm sounds like a lot of GASLIGHTING TO ME!!!!!” For context, he retweeted the video of Sky HC, who spoke about when he learned about the investigation.

“When everyone else did. I think it’s something that we heard about, and so we’re just forthcoming with anything that the league is able to do, investigation-wise.” Tyler Marsh simply stated that he was focused on the game and did not pay attention to any crowd noise. The team and the coach only found out from the reports on social media. Yet, he condemned the action of the fans. “I think we’re in compliance with them, and obviously there’s no room or space in our game for hate.”

Thus, McCants feels that there is no clear evidence against the Fever fanbase and called out the WNBA investigation. After the game, too, the ex-Wolves star toned down any notion about the allegation and instead hyped up Caitlin Clark’s performance. “First game and you don’t think ima pop my collar!!!!!! Triple Double!!! Don’t forget… @CaitlinClark22 was beat down last year….. Hoopers don’t complain, we let it RAIN!!!!!! GOAT!!!”

Despite on-court differences, Angel Reese receives support from rival Caitlin Clark

It’s not the first time that the LSU alum faced hate from fans. The 23-year-old detailed her feelings on her podcast ‘Unapologetically Angel’ and revealed that the harassment has escalated far beyond internet trolling. As per her statement, she received death threats, had a stalking incident, and even spoke about the horrifying nature of dealing with her explicit, AI-generated images. It was because of this that the Baybou-Barbie deleted her Instagram for some time.

It took just one game for fans to allegedly hit her with racial slurs. Before the second game of the season, which is a home opener for Sky, Angel Reese responded to the current investigation. “In the moment it’s hard to hear, but my support system is great…but having support and love and being part of an organization that really supports me and loves me is [important].” Angel Reese was also not sure what exactly was uttered, but is grateful for the support from the league and her teammates.

Even CC comments make it clear that she was not sure about the fan’s alleged behavior. “It’s super loud in here, and though I didn’t hear anything, I think that’s why they’re doing the investigation.” The list of people from the court who couldn’t hear the abuse includes Sky HC, alleged victim Angel Reese, and Fever guard Caitlin Clark. Which is why Rashad McCants feels fishy about this entire investigation.