WNBA
Why was Angel Reese ejected from the game against the Liberty? What did she say?
The rookie was ejected just a day after she embraced being ‘the bad guy’ of the WNBA.
Chicago Sky player Angel Reese, just hours after embracing ‘the bad guy’ reputation in the WNBA, was ejected from the game against the New York Liberty.
In the 75-88 loss in the WNBA, the 22-year-old was ejected after an altercation with under three minutes remaining in the game.
What did Reese say to the official against the Liberty?
Despite her reputation for physical play, this time it was her harsh words that caught the attention of the officials. After getting called for reaching in on Jonquel Jones while going for a rebound (her fifth foul of the night), she complained to an official, and her strong choice of words was enough for her to be sent to the locker room.
Initially there was some confusion, with Liberty player Sabrina Ionescu seen asking the official why Reese had been given her marching orders, adding “She got two techs just for saying ‘that’s bulls---?’” giving us an indication of what might have been uttered.
Reese could be seen waving off the official, obviously in disagreement regarding the call. The referee, who was less than amused with her behaviour, awarded her a double technical foul, which is an automatic ejection.
The 22-year-old is averaging 10.9 points and 9.0 rebounds through her first eight WNBA games, but her on-court stats are not why she is grabbing the headlines. In the days leading up to the game, Reese was asked about her physical play on rookie Caitlin Clark.
“Look where women’s basketball is. People are talking about women’s basketball that you never would think would be talking about women’s basketball”, she said.
“People are pulling up to games, we got celebrities coming to games, sold out arenas, just because of [the 2023 NCAA championship game]”, Reese added before saying, “and just looking at that, I’ll take that role. I’ll take the bad guy role, and I’ll continue to take that on and be that for my teammates”.
“I’ll look back in 20 years and be like, ‘Yeah, the reason why we’re watching women’s basketball is not just because of one person. It’s because of me too,’ and I want y’all to realize that. It’s not just because of one person. A lot of us have done so much for this game, and Chennedy has been here before, obviously, but there are so many great players in this league that have deserved this for a really, really long time, and luckily, it’s coming now”, she concluded.