“It’s Angel Reese as well”: America’s first Black woman billionaire publicly voices hard feelings about Caitlin Clark’s historic spotlight

America’s first Black woman billionaire publicly voices hard feelings about Caitlin Clark (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Last season, Caitlin Clark led what was an impressive WNBA rookie class. Following her historic campaign, one owner and billionaire reflected on the massive spotlight the Indiana Fever guard received.

While appearing on CNN on Friday, Sheila Johnson gave her thoughts on the recent boom in popularity in the WNBA. The Washington Mystics co-owner feels it stems far beyond Clark, citing Angel Reese as another player who brought more eyes to the league.

“It’s just not Caitlin Clark,” Johnson said. “It’s Reese, we have so much talent out there that has been unrecognized. I don’t think we can pin it on just one player.”

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Angel Reese was one of two rookies to be named an All-Star and was in the Rookie of the Year debate with Clark for most of the season. However, her case took a big hit when she was shut down early due to a wrist injury.

Aside from being the owner of the Mystics, Johnson is most known for being the first female African American billionaire in the United States. Her successes in the business world include co-founding the TV network BET and being an executive for Salamander Hotels.

Sheila Johnson speaks out against Caitlin Clark’s latest honor

Following her historic rookie campaign, Caitlin Clark received a tremendous honor earlier this week. Time magazine announced that the reigning Rookie of the Year was selected as the publication’s Athlete of the Year. While many applauded this nomination, it was met with some backlash.

Later on in her interview on CNN, Sheila Johnson touched on Clark being chosen by Time. Similar to her earlier remarks, she felt all the women in the WNBA should have been placed on the cover to highlight the league as a whole.

Johnson followed up by stating that Caitlin Clark receiving all the recognition could result in a growing resentment towards her from her counterparts.

“When you just keep singling out one player, it creates hard feelings,” added Johnson.

While a big spotlight has been put on her, Clark has done her part to help uplift the WNBA as a whole. During her interview with Time following her nomination, she too spoke on the overlooked talent across the league.

At the end of the day, all prominent sports leagues have their upper echelon of stars who garner a majority of the attention from fans and media. Overall, Clark being chosen for things like this is a positive for the WNBA. Her growing fandom will only bring more fans to women’s basketball, which would benefit the league as a whole.