"You twisted Angel Reese's words" - Fans react as WNBA snubs major insider out of voting for league awards

WNBA fans have mixed reactions to league insider Annie Costabile not being chosen as a part of the panel that will select several of the regular-season awards.

On Friday, Costabile said on X that while she wasn't a part of the WNBA's panel of voters, she was chosen in the AP voting. Costabile shared her ballot for the AP voting, which is done by a 14-member national media panel that votes weekly on the power poll.

"Devastated the WNBA decided I wasn't voter material this year 💔 HOWEVER, my voice was heard in AP voting," she tweeted.

Fans reacted to Costabile's tweet, with many agreeing with the league's decision to exclude her. One fan mentioned a previous piece about Chicago Sky star Angel Reese, alleging that Costabile sided with the team. The insider wrote on Sept. 3 that the franchise was "unhappy" with Reese's controversial comments. Costabile added that the two-time All-Star has an "uncertain future" with Chicago.

"You spent all offseason defending easily the worst GM in the W and all his moves that produced a 10 win team despite trading all their draft assets away. Then you twisted Reese's words to defend the most embarrassing franchise in US pro sports," one fan tweeted.

Others criticized Costabile's picks.

Meanwhile, there are some who praised Costabile's credibility as a WNBA journalist.

Before working for Front Office Sports, Costabile was a part of the Chicago Sun-Times, where she primarily covered the Sky.

WNBA releases announcement schedule for its regular-season awards

The WNBA will release the winners of the 2025 regular-season awards throughout the playoffs, which starts on Sunday.

According to a press release on Friday, the league has 13 end-of-season awards. Ten of them will be voted on by a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters chosen by the WNBA. The announcement for the Rookie of the Year is yet to be determined.

The WNBA Most Improved Player will be the first to be announced on Monday. It will be followed by the Coach of the Year on Wednesday and the Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday. On Friday, the five finalists for MVP will be revealed, while the Sixth Player of the Year will be named Saturday.

Here's the schedule for the other awards:

Sept. 21: MVP
Sept. 22: Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award
Sept. 23: Basketball Executive of the Year
Sept. 29: All-Rookie Team
Oct. 1: All-Defensive First and Second Teams
Oct. 2: Business Executive Leadership Award
Oct. 7: All-WNBA First and Second Teams

About the author

Kim is an editor for US Sports and an NBA and WNBA analyst at Sportskeeda with a decade of multi-industry experience. He has a master's degree in business administration and a bachelor's degree in finance.

Writing has been Kim's passion, and during college, he was editor-in-chief. He has also accumulated a diverse entrepreneurial background. He possesses a knack for research.

Kim has been a Boston Celtics fan since 2007, through their many ups and downs. He was delighted when the Cs raised their 18th banner in 2024.

Beyond basketball, he also enjoys following the NFL, MLB and F1. When not immersed in the world of sports and when he is not editing or writing, Kim is likely searching for the perfect cup of joe.

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Edited by Kim Daniel Rubinos