During Angel Reese‘s first WNBA season, Dwyane Wade has grown to be one of her staunchest fans. Wade, who is well-known for his frank opinions and astute basketball observations, recently joined Reese on his podcast, Unapologetically Angel, where they discussed the public discourse surrounding Reese’s “villain persona.”
Wade used Reese’s famous John Cena gesture from the 2023 NCAA Final as the starting point for her villainous role. When she made the gesture during a rivalry game against Caitlin Clark of Iowa, it garnered a lot of media attention. Some outlets called her too aggressive or unsportsmanlike. Wade, however, claimed that this was really sloppy marketing on the part of media outlets attempting to construct a good versus evil narrative.
Wade said : “Everyone has their own media that’s on them,”. “Yours went in a direction where they’ve painted you as the bad guy. But those who know you, your true fans, see you as a hero in so many other ways.”
Wade highlighted that the true problem is the media’s reliance on lazy clichés, such contrasting two athletes—particularly a Black athlete and a white athlete—to advance stories, as was the case with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the NBA’s early years.
Angel Reese’s reaction to criticism in the media
Angel Reese has been open about how frustrated she is with the media. She has been outspoken about how certain media outlets distort her statements and behavior to support a particular viewpoint. This was particularly clear during her first season following a contentious matchup with the Indiana Fever, in which Reese was chastised for a blatant foul on Clark.
Reporters started to wonder if she was comfortable being portrayed as a “villain,” a portrayal that many detractors said was more a result of the rivalry than of her behavior on the court.
In interviews, Reese has expressed her frustration with the constant characterization of her as resentful or envious. But in addition to focusing on the negative, Reese asked thoughtful questions about how the media has influenced rivalry in the past during her podcast conversation with Wade.
