Angel Reese-Sheryl Swoopes hug a win for Black women

When three-time WNBA MVP Sheryl Swoopes wrapped her arms around Chicago Sky rookie forward Angel Reese seconds after Reese’s powerful performance against the Indiana Fever Sunday afternoon, I felt their energy travel through the TV and stir my spirit. Their embrace was about more than star power: It was soulful, and motherly for Swoopes, and sisterly for them both in their shared struggles.

“She been there for me. She been there through my highs and lows,” Reese said of Swoopes to ESPN reporter Holly Rowe after the Chicago Sky’s 88-87 win over the Indiana Fever. “She said she’s proud of me. … Just being able to talk to her and have someone like that in my life. I’m just happy I came over there.”

I’ve written about hugs and hoops before after NBA Hall of Famer Allen Iverson’s embrace of three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade and how it affirmed the humanity of Black men. Certainly, the touching gesture between Reese and Swoopes flew in the face of the nasty narratives Black women have faced over the past few months. Sistas have been largely accused of cattiness and pettiness, rhetoric that has largely been used to juxtapose them with Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark. In some ways, that hug was a reminder that the league is bigger than one person. The WNBA has always been a league of giants, with surnames such as Swoopes, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley and two-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist Lisa Leslie.

In some ways, the ugly side of Clark’s success can be traced back to commentary Swoopes made in January on an episode of former NBA guard Gilbert Arenas’ daily sports podcast Gil’s Arena. Swoopes erroneously said Clark was in her fifth year of eligibility as she was poised to set a Division I scoring record. Swoopes acknowledged that she “made a mistake,” and that Clark was actually in her fourth year of eligibility, but Iowa fans came up with the most nonsensical hashtag and campaign: #DontBeASheryl.

It was as asinine a statement as it was unoriginal – it was an attempt to copy the slang term “Karen,” which mocks middle-class white American women who are perceived as entitled. “Sheryl as in Sheryl Swoopes? Oh y’all trippin,” A’ja Wilson tweeted in response.

Before Reese made her name as “Bayou Barbie,” Swoopes was already basketball royalty. In 1995, she became the first female athlete with her own signature shoe. She was often compared to NBA legend Michael Jordan, and the pair’s competitive streak was on full display after a brief one-on-one battle at Jordan’s basketball camp in 1994. In the midst of Jordan’s second three-peat from 1996 to 1998, Swoopes and the Houston Comets began a streak from 1997 to 2000 in which they won the first four championships in WNBA history.

If I might paraphrase the start of “Thuggish Ruggish Bone,” by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, we’re not against Clark, we’re not against her impact on the game. But we are against fans who make it seem like she’s all that women’s basketball has ever offered. It’s a clear and deliberate erasure of Black and progressive women who have made this game special.  Reese, for her part, knew how important Swoopes’ presence was in Chicago on Sunday. “She told me she was coming to the game,” Reese said, “So I said, ‘I’m [gonna] put on a show for you.”

Down 15 points in the third quarter, Reese took her game to another level, with her skill and indomitable will on full display. After two free throws by guard Diamond DeShields, Reese ran off five points to trim the deficit nearly in half. That set up for a tremendous fourth quarter by Reese, or as a friend of mine put it, the rise of “BBQ Chicken Barbie.” The most notable play, perhaps, came with the Sky down three, and Reese just had her layup blocked by longtime tormentor, Fever forward Aliyah Boston, who successfully guarded Reese dating back to their matchups in college. Reese got an offensive rebound, and after a missed shot, a second offensive rebound and putback while being fouled. I think all of us yelled “and one” in unison with Reese.

After the dust settled, and after a lengthy few seconds left in the game, sure enough Reese had put on a show. Twenty-five points and 16 rebounds for the double-double machine, whose efforts placed her in a league with superstar Wilson. She and Wilson are now the only two players in the WNBA this season with multiple games with at least 15 points and 15 rebounds, and Reese was the first rookie since Wilson with 25-plus points and 15-plus rebounds in a single game.

Reese, who posted a double-double in eight consecutive games, extending her WNBA rookie record, also embraced Sky guard Chennedy Carter, who scored 23 points. Almost as a preview of Swoopes’ hug, Reese wrapped both arms around Carter, who had also endured the wrath of Clark fans after a flagrant foul during an earlier matchup.  All in all, it was a day that put the women’s game and its superstar names on full display for their competitiveness and their companionship. Swoopes met with the Sky and their coach, Teresa Weatherspoon, who playfully noted that Swoopes had “won three freaking championships against me.”

Words from a Legend#skytown pic.twitter.com/0kJ7nqaBgM

— Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) June 24, 2024

“I still don’t like her for that, but I love this woman,” Weatherspoon said.  “Just stay the course,” Swoopes told the team. “I’m proud of you. I love you to pieces. And I’m so happy that I got to come here and see a win.”

It was a win for the Sky. It was a win for Black women. Where Iverson’s hugs celebrated humanity, the love between Reese and Swoopes celebrated Black women in all their diversity and complexity.  I hope that’s something we can all embrace.