"Not part of a vulnerable population of Black women" - Big Wos shuts down Angel Reese defenders who resort to 'pearl-clutching' and 'protectionism'

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

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

Big Wos downplayed the incident, saying Reese didn’t need excessive shielding.

“Guys, Angel Reese is fine, man. She's pretty freaking rich,” he said. “She's pretty influential. She's a powerful person. She's gonna be fine. I'm not even talking physically. I'm talking about, she's a powerful woman. 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, specifically monkey noises, directed at Reese. In a statement, the WNBA said it “strongly condemns racism, hate and discrimination in all forms,” and that it is “aware of the allegations and (is) looking into the matter.”

The league later said it didn’t find anything substantiated.

“(Reese is) powerful,” Big Wos said. “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 real minority

While debates swirl around race in the Angel Reese-Caitlin Clark saga, Big Wos argued that Clark is actually the outlier within the league.

“I think the league is extremely woke,” he said. “And Caitlin Clark has taken a lot of pains to be apolitical. Also, she's straight. That's another part, she's not gay. .. So she's not part of the dominant culture (in the WNBA), okay? In society and culture, yes, she is. But in the context of the WNBA, she ain't 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