Former Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart blasted WNBA rookie Angel Reese on Sunday. The Chicago Sky forward’s flagrant-1 foul on Caitlin Clark became the latest incident of physical play that the Indiana Fever has received and caught the fans’ attention, including Leinart’s.

The Fever outlasted the Sky 91-83 in their second matchup of the season. They’ve won their first two games in their season series, thanks to the on-court excellence of Clark. The former Iowa star picked up 23 points and dished out nine assists to help the team capture its first two-game win streak.

However, Reese hit Clark’s head as Reese contested her layup attempt late in the third quarter, drawing a flagrant-1 violation.

Many fans expressed how they didn’t like Reese’s play. One of those fans who wasn’t a fan was Leinart.

“Angel Reese should be suspended. Period. Not good for the game,” Leinart tweeted.

It’s not known if the league will consider suspending Reese.

What did Angel Reese say about her play on Clark?

Angel Reese did her best to defend herself from the narrative that she plays dirty against Clark.

“It was a basketball play. I can’t control the refs,” Reese said when asked about the play after the game. “I’m always going for that ball. Y’all going to play that clip 20 times before Monday.”

Reese had an additional comment regarding the game’s officiating:

“Going back and looking at film, I’ve seen a lot of calls that weren’t made. I guess some people got a special whistle.”

The rivalry between the two started during their junior seasons when both players started to gain national recognition as Reese’s LSU Tigers topped Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes 102-85 in the 2023 NCAA championship game. Now, they’re two of the most famous rookies in the league.

What did Caitlin Clark say about the incident?

The focus of the postgame questions was on the hard foul that Angel Reese committed against Caitlin Clark. The Indiana star said that her rival simply made a basketball move. According to her, it’s part of the game and she didn’t think much about it.

So far, Clark has a 2-0 record against Reese in the pros.

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