After Chicago Sky star Angel Reese claimed that a fan made racially insensitive comments to her during the team’s season-opening game against the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the WNBA launched a formal investigation.
It appears the Fever are backing the league’s actions.
In a statement from the WNBA, the league said, “The WNBA strongly condemns racism, hate and discrimination in all forms — they have no place in our league or in society. We are aware of the allegations and are looking into the matter.”
Fever star Caitlin Clark expressed similar dismay for the alleged racist acts aimed at Reese. Following team practice on Monday, Clark said “There’s no place for that in our game. There’s no place for that in society.”
She continued, “We want every person that comes into our arena, whether player, whether fan, to have a great experience. I appreciate the league doing that. I appreciate the Fever organization has been at the forefront of that since Day 1, and what they’re doing. With the investigation, we’ll leave that up to them to find anything, and take the proper action if so.”
Clark’s sentiment has been mirrored by Fever teammate Brianna Turner. On Monday, Turner, who also serves as the WNBA players’ union treasurer, said she supports the league opening an investigation into Reese’s claims.
“One person is too many,” Turner said. “If one person said something, I think it’s worth an investigation. If they find nothing, they find nothing. But if someone thinks they heard something or said something, I think it’s warranted to investigate.”
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Does this investigation have to do with the scrum between Reese and Clark?
During the third quarter of Indiana’s 93-58 win over Chicago, Reese and Clark got into a brief fight after Clark committed a flagrant 1 foul on Reese, who was attempting to make a rebound. According to IndyStar, the investigation has nothing to do with that foul.
Did Clark hear any racist comments?
Clark claims she did not hear anything, but also noted that she couldn’t really hear anything with how crowded the arena was.
“It’s super loud in here, and though I didn’t hear anything, I think that’s why they’re doing the investigation,” said Clark. “That doesn’t mean nothing happened, so I’ll just trust the league’s investigation, and I’m sure they’ll do the right thing.”
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Indiana Fever cooperate with WNBA amid hate speech investigation
