Angel Reese made headlines this week after making ‘detrimental’ comments toward her teammates and coach. Now, she’s going to have a little less time with her team.
On Friday, the Chicago Sky announced that they had suspended their star player for the first half of their upcoming game against the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday.
“The Chicago Sky values the safety, respect, and well-being of every player. We are committed to accountability so our players can stay focused on playing basketball,” the Sky said in a statement on Friday. Because of statements detrimental to the team made by Angel Reese during league-mandated media, she will not play in the first half of the game on September 7 against the Las Vegas Aces.
“This matter has been handled and resolved internally, and we are moving forward as a team.”
The Sky is currently mired in a very forgettable 10-31 season. While Reese has continued amassing accolades and achievements for collecting rebounds, or “mebounds,” as they have become known, the Sky have not been able to translate that into victory.
Reese aired her frustrations earlier this week while extolling team management to get “great players.”
“I’m not settling for the same sh*t we did this year,” the star forward said.
“We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That’s a non-negotiable for me. I’m willing and wanting to play with the best. And however I can help to get the best here, that’s what I’m going to do this offseason.”
“So it’s going to be very, very important this offseason to make sure we attract the best of the best because we can’t settle for what we have this year.”
That wasn’t all, Reese also strongly suggested she may leave the team if the changes she requested aren’t made.
“I’d like to be here for my career, but if things don’t pan out, obviously, I might have to move in a different direction and do what’s best for me. But while I am here, I’m going to try to stay open-minded about what I have here and maximize that as much as I can.”
Reese sounded a much more conciliatory tune later in the week, attributing her critical comments about her teammates to frustration.
“I probably am frustrated with myself right now,” Reese said after the Sky’s 88-64 win over the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday. “I think the language was taken out of context, and I really didn’t intentionally mean to put down my teammates because they’ve been through this with me throughout the whole year.
She added, “I just have to be better with my language because I know it’s not the message, it’s the messenger. And understanding what I say can be taken any type of way. So, I just have to be better and grow from this.”