Angel Reese Ejected from Game After Arguing with Official in Questionable Call
The Chicago Sky star was tossed from the game against the New York Liberty in the fourth quarter on Tuesday night
Andy Lyons/Getty
Angel Reese’s ongoing initiation into the WNBA now includes her first ejection, which came in a matchup against the New York Liberty on Tuesday night.
The Chicago Sky rookie, 22, drew two quick technicals in the fourth quarter and was tossed from the game — a decision that provoked opinions from everyone from a teammate to fellow Chicago pro basketball player Lonzo Ball.
Reese herself, however, did not make herself available to the media after the game, which could likely result in a fine.
It was the second game in a row that the former LSU star declined to talk to reporters. After Saturday’s loss against college rival Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever, in which Chicago’s Chennedy Carter hip-checked Clark, Reese was fined $1,000 for failing to make herself available to the media for interviews.
Related: Angel Reese Talks Caitlin Clark and Says the WNBA Has Grown 'Because of Me Too'
After Tuesday night’s game, Reese’s Sky teammate Marina Mabrey was asked about the sequence of events which led to the star guard’s ejection.
"She got two techs, she said something to the ref," Mabrey said. "Whatever he felt like was the correct call is what he made. It's more about composure for us in our young years in the WNBA. You've got to get to know refs and how they respond to things."
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Lead official Maj Forsberg later said that Reese's technical fouls were for "disrespectfully addressing" the official and then for "waving her hand in dismissal."
Ball, who was at the game, disagreed with the ref’s assessment — and wrote on X that he had Reese’s back.
"Ref that threw out @Reese10Angel is weak btw," Ball wrote. "You know who you are (Keep ya money Angel I got you)."
Reese wrote back: "Appreciate you gang!"
For Reese, the development came just a day after she offered her own take on the WNBA’s evolution amid the controversy over Carter's hard foul on Clark.
"I think so many people are watching women's basketball right now. It all started from the national championship game, and I've been dealing with this for two years now and understand that, yeah, negative things have probably been said about me. But honestly, I'll take that because look where women's basketball is," she said.
Reese later added, "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 you to realize that. Like it's just not ‘cause of one person. A lot of us have done so much for this game."
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