Angel Reese Caitlin Clark and Sue Bird (Photos via USA Today)
The WNBA caught lightning in a bottle when Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese were drafted into the league to continue their rivalry from college to the pros.

Unfortunately, the rivalry seems to have divided fans not only along the athlete front but also on racial lines. Reese is Black, and Caitlin is white.

Caitlin Clark’s flagrant foul on Angel Reese during the season-opening game has turned into something much worse. Fans and pundits are offering tons of takes about this heated moment and everything that has occurred in the aftermath.

This moment has divided fans even more than the Clark and Reese rivalry already has.

WNBA legend Sue Bird shared her take when addressing how the Clark and Reese moment has been covered.

“What is the line between things that we should talk about in The W that are additive to the game. And that line that completely takes the focus away from what is happening on the court?” the WNBA legend was asked by Taylor Rooks.

“Sadly in women’s sports for a lot of reasons, once it does cross over, it’s gone we can’t even get it back. And it’s hard to articulate, it’s almost like you know it when you see it,” Sure Bird said on a Bleacher Report podcast.

Bird pushed back aganst people taking issue with hard and competitive games and turning them into something that it is not.

“I think a big part of it is people not understanding that our league, the WNBA, is physical and it’s competitive. The same way you’ve watched men’s sports be physical and competitive for all these years — this is not new. All the little fights, or all the little moments where people do the stare down, this is has been in our league from the jump. This has been in sports from the jump. It’s the same for women. And it doesn’t have some deeper meaning to it.”

Perhaps some observers will heed Bird’s words and learn for the future.

Caitlin Clark And Angel Reese’s Teams Are Headed In Different Directions

May 17, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) shake hands before the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Since that flagrant foul between Caitlin and Angel, the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky have had vastly different 2025 seasons.

The Fever are 2-2 on the year, which is good for third place in the Eastern Conference.

The Chicago Sky is one of just two teams that have yet to win a single game.

Angel Reese has three double-doubles in four games, but the team keeps losing.

Caitlin Clark is breaking records, but she will miss two weeks due to an injury.