Dave Portnoy shreds flagrant foul on Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese: 'WNBA is a joke'

Dave Portnoy came after WNBA officials on social media after Caitlin Clark was called for a flagrant foul against Angel Reese on Saturday. The play occurred during the third quarter of the season opener for both the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky after Clark made a hard foul on Reese underneath the basket.

That caused Reese to get upset as she immediately got up and came after Clark while exchanging words. Some players got in between the two before things escalated, and Aliyah Boston was assessed a technical foul.

Reese was also given a technical while Clark was called for a flagrant for her initial foul. Portnoy took exception to the call and let it be known that he believed it should have merely been a common foul.

“In what world was that flagrant,” the Barstool Sports founder wrote on X. “An absolute cop out call. WNBA is a joke.”

Clark later defended the foul herself during an interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe. She explained that she simply was trying to prevent Reese from scoring and easy layup and there was no “malicious” intent behind it.

“It’s just a good take foul,” she said. “Either Angel gets a wide open two points or we send them to the free throw line. Nothing malicious about it. It’s just a good take foul. Every basketball player knows that.”

Clark and Reese have had a developing rivalry since college, when Reese led LSU to a national championship win against Clark and Iowa in 2023. That extended last year into their rookie seasons in the WNBA, which saw record numbers in both attendance and TV viewership.

That in mind, Saturday’s matchup between the Sky and Fever was heavily anticipated to start out the year. Indiana cruised to a 93-58 win as Clark delivered a triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to go along with four blocks and two steals. It marked the third triple-double of her young career after winning Rookie of the Year in 2024.

Reese also had a solid game to finish with a double-double of 12 points and 17 rebounds. Last year, she set the WNBA single-season record with 23 double-doubles.

Both players clearly have bright futures ahead of them in the league and the attention they have drawn through their rivalry is unprecendented for the WNBA. That was on display today with the number of opinions on their dust up, including from Portnoy.