Former WNBA player and two-time college basketball national champion Val Whiting shared racist messages that were directed at Angel Reese.
Whiting said Reese’s mother, who is also named Angel, sent her a screenshot of two racially charged messages that were aimed at the Chicago Sky rookie and allegedly sent from Caitlin Clark fans.
“Angel Reese gets a lot of racially motivated hate. I believe she gets this more than any player in the league. Here is a one screenshot that her mother shared with me from a guy named William Martina,” Whiting wrote on X on July 9.
Whiting said Martina sent the message to Reese’s Foundation, which read, “Sorry but you can’t dress up as anything but you are what you are. thug comes to mind..,go Caitlin.”
“He actually used his real name and email address and contacted the Angel Reese Foundation to be mean and racist,” tweeted Whiting.
Whiting also shared a screenshot of a message from an unidentified person that said “vile things as well.”
The message read, “Black b—th you disgust me with your silly jealous antics let your daughter shine and [stop] teaching her to be jealous to get attention! Stop being a black ratchet gutter b—th s black women look bad and stop talking about cc she got that swag she changing the game be glad your daughter got a chance to even play in the W!! Cuz if it wasn’t for cc nobody would know your low gpa having daughter.”
Both of these people showed that they are fans of Caitlin Clark,” Whiting wrote on X.
“William Martina is the president of a company yet he took time to racially bully and harass a young black woman. Angel’s mom said that they get these type of emails and text messages every week,” she continued.
The GPA comment was a reference to allegations that Reese had a 2.0 GPA from Kia Brooks, the mother of her former teammate and good friend Flau’jae Johnson. Regardless, Reese still ended up graduating in May.
Whiting also acknowledged the racially based backlash that Clark has received over the past couple of years as she was thrust into the national spotlight.
However, she shared the post to bring attention to the “extreme nature” of the things Reese frequently encounters.
“Please note that I realize Caitlin Clark has received race based hate as well. And some of that has come from Angel Reese stans but this post is about the extreme nature of what Angel Reese goes through.”
Some fans did a compare and contrast of the amount of hate Clark and Reese each receive.
“I honestly don’t think the comparison is even close. Most of what Caitlin has been mentioned by the other side is white privilege,” one person argued on X.
“I understand what you’re saying, but I disagree. No one bought cc race into play that was the cc fans. Cc fans bought race up to undermine Angel Reese because they knew they were in the wrong for attacking her after the do you see me situation,” another person pointed out.
Reese’s mother has spoken out on behalf of her daughter in the past.
In May, came to her daughter’s defense after the WNBA rookie was criticized for a since-deleted X post celebrating Chicago’s win against the New York Liberty, according to the New York Post.
Many believed when Angel wrote, “And that’s on getting a WIN in a packed area not just ’cause of one player on our charter flight,” that she was taking a dig at her former college basketball rival.
Her mom also made it clear that Reese’s family’s issues were with the media and not with Clark.
“She was not attacking CC but bc you & the rest of those ‘children of the corn’ folks thought she was & once again sending her racist & vile comments she did. Her comment was directed towards the media but of course you’re about clicks,” Whiting wrote at that time on X.
Despite the string of criticism Reese has faced, she continues to shine on the basketball court. On July 10, she recorded her 14th consecutive double-double which marked a WNBA record.
