WNBA star Angel Reese is now getting praise from ultra-conservative commentator Jason Whitlock, just days after he trounced the “Bayou Barblie” for being an “unskilled” and “overrated” player who is “jealous” of Caitlin Clark.
Whitlock’s new stance comes in the aftermath of Reese’s monumental performance where she scored 25 points — a career high — and grabbed 16 rebounds as the Chicago Sky came back from 15 down to defeat Clark’s Indiana Fever, 88-87, in the Windy City on Sunday, June 24.
“Great game from Angel Reese. She was properly focused from the jump,” Whitlock said on X. “However, (Indiana Fever head coach) Christie Sides is a bad coach. At some point, you have to put (Aliyah) Boston on Reese and live with whatever (Camilla Cardoso) does.”
Despite lauding Reese for her dogged determination, Whitlock could not resist handing her a backhanded compliment.
“She’s unskilled. But she also has a higher bball IQ than I gave her credit for. She knows how to play. She’s a terrific competitor. Her game is to establish (a) post position and she works hard to get it. That type of effort will make her highly effective,” Whitlock surmised on X.
“If she keeps this focus and attitude, she’ll become a legit star,” he added. “We shall see.”
This comes just days and weeks after Whitlock has repeatedly denigrated Reese.
“Angel Reese is arguably the most overrated athlete in all of sports. She is as unskilled as any player in the WNBA,” Whitlock barked as he trashed Reese, according to the Daily Mail. “She is awkward – and none of this gets talked about – look at the way she runs. Her lower body seems to be disconnected from her upper body. She’s incredibly unathletic. She has no skill, no post-game. Candace Parker I’m sure watches her and laughs and thinks like ‘THEY THINK THIS WOMAN IS GOING TO BE ME??'”
During his podcast, “Fearless With Jason Whitlock,” the former sportswriter continued railing against Reese, saying, “This woman is a rebounder and that’s it. She has no other skill, and that’s why she hates Caitlin Clark so much. If Charles Barkley or someone else would make that point, the world would melt.”
Some of Whitlock’s sports contemporaries were unmoved by his sudden shift of perspective and questioned his journalistic integrity.
ESPN personality and longtime “SportsCenter” anchor Stan Verrett, in particular, blasted Whitlock for his “clown” behavior.
“You have been flapping your gums about Angel Reese like a jealous teenage girl for weeks,” Verrett said, according to the Daily Mail. “I thought she was ‘unskilled.’ Now you want to make her the focus of the defense. You’re a clown. And it’s (Kamilla) ‘Cardoso’ not ‘Cardosa.’ And you call yourself a journalist.”
