Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese has walked back pointed comments she made about the state of the franchise, apologizing to her teammates after reports surfaced that her remarks landed poorly inside the locker room.
Reese, one of the most visible young stars in the WNBA, set off waves earlier this week when she told the Chicago Tribune that she was not content to stick with the status quo after the Sky missed the postseason for the second straight year. Her words were blunt. “I’m not settling for the same [stuff] we did this year,” she said. “We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That’s a non-negotiable for me.”
According to reporting from Front Office Sports, those remarks didn’t sit well with her teammates, several of whom felt Reese’s criticism came across as a direct attack on them. The team is expected to address the matter with her formally.
In the hours following Wednesday night’s win over the Connecticut Sun, Reese publicly attempted to clear the air. She told reporters her comments had been taken out of context and stressed that she never intended to insult the players who have been alongside her all season.
“I don’t think I’m frustrated with the Sky organization,” Reese said. “I probably am frustrated at myself right now. I really didn’t intentionally mean to put down my teammates because they’ve been through this with me throughout the whole year. They’ve busted their a–, they’ve showed up for me through thick and thin in the locker room when nobody could see anything. So I want to apologize to my teammates, which I already have.”
Her coach, Tyler Marsh,acknowledged that the organization is dealing with the situation internally. He said, “We’re addressing it in-house as currently speaking. That’s where we’ll stay right now.”
The broader frustration that fueled Reese’s original comments isn’t hard to understand. Chicago finished 10-30 this season, tumbling out of playoff contention for the second year in a row. With free agency looming, the front office faces big questions about how to construct a roster capable of competing in a league where the balance of power has tilted heavily toward a handful of super teams.
For Reese, who entered the league with a championship pedigree from LSU and quickly became one of its most marketable players, the idea of being patient with rebuilding has its limits.
But for now, Reese appears intent on repairing trust in the locker room. “I just have to be better with my language,” she said. “I know what I say can be taken any kind of way, so I just have to really be better and grow from this.”
