Another day, another bit of WNBA drama.
Angel Reese was heated after getting hit in the head by Aaliyah Edwards, though some believe she was the antagonist.
In the second quarter of the Dream’s 104-69 rout of the Sun on Thursday night at Mohegan Sun Arena, Reese went up for a layup and was fouled by Edwards.
Edwards was behind Reese on the play and did not jump to contest the shot, though she wasn’t fully vertical and her arms came down on Reese’s head.
Reese jumped backwards on the play, though, and her head made hard contact with Edwards’.
The collision knocked Edwards to the ground, and as she fell, she gabbed Reese’s neck area and began to drag her down with her, though Reese did not fall.
Reese immediately stood over Edwards and stared at her.
As the play was reviewed, Reese could be seen on the bench yelling that Edwards grabbed her neck.
Edwards’ foul was upgraded to a Flagrant 1 after a review.
Reese recorded eight points, though on a brutal 3-for-13 performance from the field.
She added 15 rebounds and four blocks.
The incident wasn’t addressed in the Dream’s postgame media availability.
There has been ample discourse about hard fouls in the WNBA this year — particularly recently, when DiJonai Carrington clotheslined Sophie Cunningham during a Fever-Sky game on Aug. 8.
Carrington was ejected for the foul and subsequently posted “WHITE PRIVILEGE” on social media from the locker room, sparking a firestorm.
Earlier in the year, Alyssa Thomas was suspended one game for hitting Caitlin Clark in the throat during a Mercury-Fever game on June 24, though the refs somehow missed it in the moment and failed to call a foul.
Much of the league’s controversy has come off-the-court as well, surrounding Cunningham — who in an ESPN profile stated her view that trans women should not compete in women’s sports.
That sparked protests, counterprotests and endless questions about the issue.
And in the aftermath, former NBA players Enes Freedom and Royce White declared for the WNBA draft, criticizing the WNBA’s allowance of biological males playing in its league.
WNBA general managers and presidents subsequently met Wednesday to discuss eligibility rules, though they decided not to enact any policy changes — but they did rip “bad-faith efforts” to “marginalize others.”
