Angel 'Smollett' Reese And The Race Hoaxers Must Face Accountability | Bobby Burack

Angel Smollett Reese strikes again.

On Tuesday, the WNBA released a statement declaring that it found no evidence of Indiana Fever fans directing "hateful and racist" comments toward Reese, as alleged.

Despite the 10-day-long investigation, the allegations were never credible. 

According to Chicago Sky head coach Tyler Marsh, the investigation followed claims from anonymous social media users after the team's 35-point loss to the Fever on May 17. Marsh says none of the team's players or coaches heard any "hateful comments" during the game.

Until, of course, Reese changed her story. Days after the investigation, Reese told reporters it had been a "tough week" given "what happened" to her:

This is now the second time in less than a year that the WNBA has wasted time and resources investigating a race hoax of which Angel Reese was at the center.  

Last June, Reese accused a fan of harassing her and her black teammates, and "blocking" them from entering their team hotel. A subsequent video of the scene and comments from her own general manager told a different story. It turns out, the man simply asked one of Reese's teammates if she had a "chance to reach out to Caitlin" after hard fouling her and calling her a "bitch."

Reese lied. She so badly wants to be a victim of racism. In the process, she has exposed herself as utterly unreliable.

And so have most of the people covering her.

Last week, ESPN led the Monday edition of "First Take" discussing the investigation. Monica McNutt declared she's fed up with the "racist comments and unsafe conditions" facing Reese. Stephen A. Smith said he appreciates it when "stupid" white people make racist remarks because it exposes them. Chiney Ogwumike reported that her sources told her the matter "was serious."

"First Take" aired for two hours on Wednesday and never once mentioned the WNBA's finding—or lack thereof. Ogwumike backtracked on her own social media in a video that was too long and never addressed her false reporting.

According to Jemele Hill, the enablers of the hoax shouldn't apologize.

Still, perhaps Stephen A. will address his irresponsible commentary on the 2028 campaign trail?

Angel Reese Has Established A Pattern Of Lying

Jussie Smollett is the standard race hoaxer of our time, but he is far from an exception. 

The list of recent race hoaxes just in sports is exhausting. The list includes two incidents involving Reese, the Duke-BYU volleyball scandal, the "Dinger" incident, the Little League World Series "cotton" scandal, Deadspin falsely framing a child for wearing blackface, and Bubba Wallace's "noose." 

Did we miss any? Probably a few.

There's a trend here, and an agenda.

In each incident, the sports media framed the false allegations as proof of some divisive hypothesis regarding all Caitlin Clark, NASCAR, baseball, or white fans.

The process is so repetitive and desperate.

Like in broader American culture, the demand for racism in sports vastly outstrips the supply. Err, let's correct that. There is a shortage of the right type of racism – as in the type of racism for which the sports media is perpetually on the prowl.

Caitlin Clark has experienced racism since her debut in the WNBA last May. Just in the past week, Angel Reese shared a TikTok video mocking Clark as a "white girl" afraid to engage in physical confrontation. However, the WNBA had no comment on the incident. Stephen A. Smith and the women on his show never acknowledged the post, either.

Likewise, the WNBA and sports media have ignored a viral clip in which Brittney Griner seems to utter, "Trash, f*cking white girl" from the bench last week. 

See for yourself:

So much for the WNBA's recently launched "no space for hate" campaign.

Ultimately, the conversation about race in sports is as disingenuous as it is uninformed. Last week, ESPN analyst Ryan Clark turned a debate about Reese and Clark into a shameful discussion about interracial marriage. Yes, you, unfortunately, read that correctly.

These goofs on television spent weeks blaming racism for Shedeur Sanders' NFL Draft freefall, ignoring that a black quarterback was selected first overall for the third consecutive season.

Rinse and repeat.

It doesn't end because the people responsible have yet to face any accountability. They hear the lie, spread the lie, and then pivot when the rest of the country learns they spread the lie.

And what's particularly shameful is that their targets are sometimes private citizens. The fans investigated for taunting Reese were innocent ticket-buying Americans. Deadspin framed an innocent child. The fan falsely accused of yelling racial slurs at a Duke volleyball game was a child with autism.

Put simply, the WNBA should suspend Reese if she lied about hearing racist chants. The league should have suspended her last season for the bus hoax. The commentators on television lending credence to unproven allegations should be fired. The outlets smearing children should be sued for defamation.

Otherwise, nothing will change. 

The hoaxers have no shame. They'd rather legitimize 100 race hoaxes than miss one opportunity to declare an entire fan base, or group, racist.

But, of course, we see no reason to expect to see change. The people in charge of these leagues and networks have no spine. So, look for the WNBA to launch an investigation this weekend after a white man allegedly shouts, "This is MAGA country" toward Angel Reese.