Dan Patrick Provides Voice Of Reason: Angel Reese Is Only Known Because She Hates Caitlin Clark

Caitlin Clark is the most contentious story in sports. Consequently, very few pundits and journalists discuss her honestly. That's often what happens when conversations approach the third rail, as in race.

Still, there are a few members of the old guard in sports media who are not afraid of the social media mob or pinhead middle managers demanding they apologize. 

On Monday, "PTI" hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon had one of the more honest conversations about Clark and race that you'll find on sports television.

The same can be said about Dan Patrick, arguably the most accomplished sports broadcaster of the past 30 years.

On Tuesday, Patrick challenged Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese's remarks about her role in helping make the WNBA popular, as she dug at the notation that Clark is the main reason for the rise in the league's popularity. 

Patrick pointed out that Reese is only a household name -- if she's even that? – because she taunted Clark during the 2023 NCAA tournament. 

"But her attention, her notoriety is based off Caitlin Clark because she wins the national title, the first thing she does is mock Caitlin Clark," Patrick said on his radio show. "And then, she doesn’t even celebrate with her teammates. So, she’s made it personal with Caitlin Clark. Then, she’s played off of that.

"Even Caitlin Clark getting knocked down in the game on Saturday. Who’s standing up applauding but Angel Reese. So, she’s sort of embraced a Draymond Green role here. But the eyeballs on the WNBA really have to do with Caitlin Clark. You might, if you stay long enough, might be able to see someone or something, and you go, ‘OK, I’m entertained by this.' But there’s nothing wrong with admitting that you watch a sport because of one singular person."

"WNBA has been around a couple of decades and people didn’t notice the game – they’re noticing it now. Well, that’s because of Caitlin Clark, not Angel Reese," Patrick added. 

"Angel Reese has played a role in this and she’s a very good player. But there’s nothing about her game that’s really interesting that is going to translate to people who may not watch the WNBA, may not care about basketball. 

"She is a social media star, and she has capitalized on that, and maybe she embraces being the villain. But make no mistake about it, Caitlin Clark is the reason why everybody has an opinion on what happened in that game."

He's right.

The masses only know who Angel Reese is because she cast herself as the lead character in the Caitlin Clark resistance movement. She is Bane, an appropriate foe to Batman – but not interesting to last in the spotlight on her own, like the Joker.

Just look at the attendance numbers. 

Both games Clark played this past weekend had more than 17,000 people in attendance. One of those games did feature the Sky and Reese visiting the Indiana Fever.

As per OutKick writer David Hookstead:

"You know Clark's the real draw when she draws more than 34,000 combined fans in two weekend games, and no other weekend matchup managed to hit more than 10,207 fans in attendance.

"Many games this past weekend didn't even draw half as many fans as Clark and the Fever did. The facts are the facts, and the fact of the matter is she's the face of the league."

Caitlin Clark is Tiger Woods, a transcendent star who competes in a still niche sports league. In terms of stardom, her competitors are simply supporting cast members. 

As Dan Patrick articulated, Angel Reese has a claim to the role of the lead antagonist. But make no mistake, this is Caitlin Clark's film.