On Friday, Caitlin Clark showed WNBA fans it was all about winning as she played in pain while setting records and leading her team to a victory she sealed with last-minute heroics.
Meanwhile, Angel Reese showed it was all about her and all about race.
On Friday, Reese’s Atlanta Dream defeated the Toronto Tempo 111-92, according to Outkick.
During the game, Reese and Tempo forward Nyara Sabally collided. Sabally not only suffered a rib injury, but was called for a foul.
With Sabally on the floor, Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello let the refs have a piece of her mind, and in the process called Reese a “protected species.”
😳 Toronto Tempo HC Sandy Brondello just called Angel Reese a “protected species.”
Completely unacceptable and out of line 😳
(via @TimeoutSPORTS3) @Reese10Angel @SBrondello pic.twitter.com/k5hUx3vm2S
— HOOPS NATION (@_HoopsNation) July 18, 2026
This violated what black fans said was acceptable, and Reese added fuel to the fire.
“ARE WE SURPRISED?!” Reese posted on X after a fan wrote “Calling a Black woman a species…”
ARE WE SURPRISED?! @SBrondello 🤡 https://t.co/moNbYdDYo3
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) July 18, 2026
“Here’s the thing: This wasn’t a racist comment,” Outkick’s Zach Dean wrote. “Come on. Context, as always, is important when it comes to these things. Usually, that’s when common sense prevails.”
“Sandy Brondello is Australian. A quick Google search would’ve shown that the term ‘protected species’ is slang over there for someone who gets preferential treatment. Fans were quick to point that out on social media, by the way. But it fell on deaf ears,” he wrote.
“The problem? Angel Reese is black, and the internet has selective hearing. So, someone posts that she was called a ‘species,’ and then Reese peddles the narrative by reposting it with a sarcastic comment and a clown emoji,” he wrote.
It’s common Australian slang pic.twitter.com/9ZTL6EqS3I
— yapping (@ForGoodAri) July 18, 2026
“That’s silly. That’s disingenuous. Frankly, it’s dangerous,” he wrote.
He called the episode a “non-story that Angel Reese chose to breathe life into by pushing the narrative to her 740,000 followers.”
“Now, nobody is talking about her great game on the floor. Instead, they’re only screaming ‘RACISM!’ Par for the course for the WNBA,” he wrote.
As Reese was making racism accusations on social media, Clark became the first player in WNBA history to score at least 40 points and also dish out 10 assists in a game, according to The New York Times.
Clark scored 16 points with three assists in the final quarter, including an assist on the layup by Monique Billings that tied the score, and a dramatic 3-pointer with 39 seconds left that sealed the victory.
Clark also was a defensive hero, blocking a shot that would have put Seattle ahead by two points in the final minute.
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