The web hate focusing on WNBA star Angel Reese hit a disturbing low this week after a racist meme surfaced displaying her as a monkey on a faux “NBA 2K26: WNBA Version” cowl. The put up, which rapidly went viral, sparked fast backlash for its dehumanizing imagery and racial overtones.
Robert Griffin III, former NFL quarterback and present ESPN analyst, broke his silence with a press release on X (previously Twitter), condemning the picture and the hate aimed toward Reese. “Whether or not you want a participant or not, Angel Reese ought to by no means be referred to as or depicted as a Monkey,” he stated. “There must be no house for racism on this world.”
Griffin revealed that he had initially stayed quiet on Reese attributable to her sharing a video that led to threats towards his household, together with his kids. Regardless of that, he stood agency in protection of her humanity, stressing that being in comparison with a monkey is rarely acceptable—irrespective of the context.
He additionally addressed current tensions between Reese and fellow WNBA rookie Caitlin Clark. Griffin claimed sources from Reese’s interior circle instructed him she harbored resentment over fixed comparisons to Clark within the media. “It’s sports activities,” he wrote. “Everyone gained’t like one another.”
However Reese wasn’t having it. She took to social media to name out Griffin’s claims immediately, tweeting, “mendacity on this app when everyone know the primary and final identify of everyone in my circle for clout is nastyyyy work.”
The incident is simply the newest instance of the racist therapy Black athletes—particularly Black ladies—proceed to face on-line. Whereas debates about rivalries and personalities in sports activities are truthful recreation, utilizing racist tropes like monkey imagery takes it to a hateful and harmful stage.
Reese, who has already handled scrutiny since her faculty days at LSU, continues to face disproportionate criticism in her rookie WNBA season. However this time, the web wasn’t quiet. Assist poured in from followers, media figures, and athletes alike who made one factor clear—racism is not going to be tolerated.
The road between sports activities banter and hate speech will not be blurry, and this week, social media was reminded of simply how deep that line runs.
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