Can The WNBA Address The First Angel Reese Race Hoax Before Investigating Another?

On Sunday, the WNBA released a statement announcing an "investigation" into allegations from X users that Fever fans allegedly made "monkey noises" toward Angel Reese during Saturday's matchups between the Sky and Fever.

"The WNBA strongly condemns racism, hate, and discrimination in all forms — they have no place in our league or in society," the league said in a statement. "We are aware of the allegations and are looking into the matter."

At this point, you'd expect us to include a video of the fans mocking Reese with supposedly racist noises. However, as of publication, no such video has emerged. 

In fact, the apparent sounds in question during Reese's free-throw attempts appear to come from the PA speaker and nondescript boos from Fever fans.

Take a look:

We suppose it's possible that the recording failed to capture the fans making "monkey noises." But it's hard to believe that in 2025, when nearly everyone in attendance has a cameraphone, that not a single fan would capture those taunts on video.

What's more, this is at least the second time the WNBA has wasted its resources to investigate a dubious, at best, allegation of racism toward Angel Reese in the past year.

Last June, Reese claimed on social media that a Caitlin Clark fan "harassed" her black teammates while arriving at their team hotel.

"Finding out our team's hotel to pull with a camera as we get off the bus and put it in my teammates face & HARASS her is NASTY WORK. this really is outta control and needs to STOP," Reese posted on X, following the incident in which teammate Chennedy Carter hard-fouled Clark while calling her a "bitch."

A few other Sky players quoted Reese's posts with further allegations against the alleged harasser. 

Sky forward Michaela Onyenwere accused him of calling Carter and the other women "ghetto bitches." Isabelle Harrison said the man stormed at them to the point they "couldn’t even step off the bus."

However, nearly 11 months later, there is still no video or eyewitnesses to corroborate Reese's claims. Instead, all indications suggest the women fabricated the story.

Notice that Reese and co. stopped discussing the matter after a video from the scene was released. In that video, the man in question did not "harass," "storm at," "threaten," or get in the face of the players. He also didn't block them from getting off the bus, as the women stated. 

Rather, he simply recorded himself asking Carter if she "had a chance to reach out to Caitlin Clark."

Watch below:

Like the latest allegation, we acknowledge there could be more to the story than what was captured on video. Then again, the team's own general manager says there wasn't. According to Sky GM Jeff Pagliocca, the entirety of the incident was captured in the clip above.

"It was over as fast as it started," Pagliocca told the Chicago Sun-Times. "I’m very confident in our security always making our players feel safe. Today was a great example of how critical they are to our team."

"The man had a camera and was trying to approach guard Chennedy Carter, however security was able to de-escalate the situation without the assistance of police, general manager Pagliocca [added]," per USA Today.

Oh, so the man didn't follow the women around, calling them "ghetto bitches."

For nearly a year, OutKick has asked the Chicago Sky for comment on its general manager directly contradicting his players' version of the incident. We also inquired to see if the team had found any evidence to corroborate Reese's claims, understanding the team and league almost certainly obtained security camera footage from the hotel's entrance, where the alleged incident occurred.

The team has never responded.

WNBA commentators like Kelsey Nelson and Moncia McNutt would like the league to form a special committee investigating every allegation of racism across the league. However, the demand for racism in the WNBA vastly outstrips the supply. Unless, of course, you consider the racism Caitlin Clark faces from her opponents, on and off the court.

Ultimately, it's going to be a daunting task if the league plans to put out a press release every time unsubstantiated allegations of racism emerge. These race hoaxes aren't going away – especially if the WNBA treats every new one like the second coming of Watergate.

Word is that fans also shouted "This is MAGA country" at Angel Reese when she exited the court on Saturday. We are expecting the full investigation.