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Indiana Fever Responds to WNBA Investigation Involving Angel Reese

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Liz Lindain | Last updated May 27, 2025 7:19 PM ET

The WNBA announced on May 18 that it was investigating reports of hateful comments and actions directed towards the Chicago Sky's Angel Reese during their season opener against the Indiana Fever that took place the day before.

The game was defined by a hard foul from Caitlin Clark across Reese's arm during the third quarter, which jarred the ball loose and knocked Reese to the ground. When Reese jumped up to confront Clark, forward Aliyah Boston stepped between the two players as Clark walked away.

"Obviously, there’s no place in our league for that," Reese said at a press conference last week. "I think the WNBA and our team have done a great job supporting me and I've had communication from everyone. Going through this process, obviously, if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone, and I think they’ve done a great job supporting us in this."

On Tuesday afternoon, the WNBA released an official statement saying that they were unable to substantiate allegations of hateful fan comments.

"Based on information gathered to date, including from relevant fans, teams and arena staff, as well as audio and video review of the game, we have not substantiated it," the WNBA wrote. "The WNBA is committed to fostering a safe environment for everyone and will continue to be vigilant in enforcing our fan code of conduct."

The Fever released a statement in response to the WNBA just minutes later.

“We appreciate the swift and thorough process undertaken by the WNBA to investigate these allegations, which were not substantiated,” Pacers Sports & Entertainment CEO Mel Raines said in a statement. “At Gainbridge Fieldhouse, we are committed to providing the best possible basketball experience for players and fans where hate speech has absolutely no place. Indiana is home to the world’s greatest fans, and we look forward to an exciting season of Fever basketball.”

The Fever will go against the Washington Mystics on Wednesday afternoon at the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore at 7:30 pm ET.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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