Angel Reese cusses out Caitlin Clark after flagrant foul: 'You crazy as f***'

Tensions ran high during Saturday’s WNBA season opener between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever. Caitlin Clark got whistled for a flagrant foul on Angel Reese, and the Chicago forward didn’t take kindly to the play.

Clark fouled Reese hard as she went for a layup, and the officials upgraded it to a flagrant after going to the monitor. After the play unfolded, Reese turned toward Clark to respond and appeared to say, ‘You crazy as f***’ as Sky coaches calmed her down. The former LSU star was called for a technical foul on the play, as was Fever center Aliyah Boston.

Indiana wound up winning the game in dominant fashion, 93-58, though Clark and Reese both had big-time performances. Clark had a triple-double and Reese picked up where she left off last season with another double-double.

Caitlin Clark fouls Angel Reese Hard!

“You crazy as F”

“What the F is wrong with you?” pic.twitter.com/MLUnHhNeUn

— HoopHer (@HoopHerSpeaks) May 17, 2025

Clark and Reese both addressed the play after the game. In her postgame press conference, Clark said she didn’t quite know why the referees upgraded it to a Flagrant 1, but made it clear there was no malintent.

“Let’s not make it something that it’s not,” Clark said, via the AP. “It was just a good play on the basketball. I’m not sure what the ref saw to upgrade it, and that’s up to their discretion. It’s a take foul to put them at the free-throw line.

“I’ve watched a lot of basketball in my life, that’s exactly what it was. I wasn’t trying to do anything malicious. That’s not the type of player I am.”

Reese also received a question about the sequence. She also said it was a “basketball play” and the officials got it right. When asked a follow-up, a Sky spokesperson said Reese already answered the question and head coach Tyler Marsh also repeated her answer, according to the AP.

Chicago vs. Indiana was a high-profile start to the season as Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark squared off once again. The WNBA is looking to build off last year’s success in the budding rivalry, which notably brought in record TV ratings.

During the 2024 WNBA season, networks set new viewership records in games featuring the Fever. The Sky vs. Fever game on CBS stood as its most-watched game of the year, while the Fever’s game against the Seattle Storm brought in 2.23 million viewers on ABC to set the high-water mark on that network. Indiana also played in the most-watched WNBA game ever on ESPN2 as 2.12 million tuned in against the Connecticut Sun.

That anticipation continues to grow this year. For Indiana’s preseason game at Iowa, 1.3 million people tuned in to ESPN to watch the Fever take on the Brazil national team.