Not a part of a susceptible inhabitants of Black ladies

The Ringer senior employees author Wosny “Big Wos” Lambre weighed in on the Angel Reese–Caitlin Clark rivalry on Saturday, criticizing the “pearl-clutching” and “protectionism” he sees from followers towards the Chicago Sky standout.

Appearing on an episode of “The Young Turks,” Big Wos was requested in regards to the pair and their first matchup this season, throughout which Clark was hit with a Flagrant 1 foul for pushing Reese.

Big Wos downplayed the incident, saying Reese didn’t want extreme shielding.

“Guys, Angel Reese is fine, man. She’s pretty freaking rich,” he mentioned. “She’s fairly influential. She’s a strong particular person. She’s gonna be superb. I’m not even speaking bodily. I’m speaking about, she’s a strong girl. She’s good.

“I think there’s a certain level of pearl clutching and protectionism that goes on in the industry that’s racial in nature. I’m just like, ‘Guys, I’m sorry, man. She’s not part of a vulnerable population of Black women.”

The fallout from the Flagrant 1 included a WNBA probe into alleged racist taunts, particularly monkey noises, directed at Reese. In a press release, the WNBA mentioned it “strongly condemns racism, hate and discrimination in all forms,” and that it’s “aware of the allegations and (is) looking into the matter.”

The league later mentioned it didn’t discover something substantiated.

“(Reese is) powerful,” Big Wos mentioned. “She got it going on. She’s good. There are vulnerable Black women out there. Angel Reese ain’t one of them and we’re not served by pretending that she is.”

Big Wos: In the WNBA, Caitlin Clark, not Angel Reese, is the true minority

While debates swirl round race within the Angel Reese-Caitlin Clark saga, Big Wos argued that Clark is definitely the outlier throughout the league.

“I think the league is extremely woke,” he mentioned. “And Caitlin Clark has taken quite a lot of pains to be apolitical. Also, she’s straight. That’s one other half, she’s not homosexual. .. So she’s not a part of the dominant tradition (within the WNBA), okay? In society and tradition, sure, she is. But within the context of the WNBA, she ain’t a part of that.

“And so you add that to the ‘great white hope’ feeling to a predominantly Black league, it’s not hard to understand why people was annoyed by her. You ain’t woke, you ain’t gay, and you ain’t black. Get out of here.”

Even WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert drew criticism last year when she acknowledged that the rivalry between Reese and Clark had racial undertones, likening it to the Magic Johnson-Larry Bird dynamic.

READ: “One white, one black”: WNBA commissioner compares Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese rivalry to Larry Bird and Magic Johnson’s dynamics