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WNBA star Angel Reese says she’d rather pay a fine than speak to reporters sometimes

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WNBA star Angel Reese says she’d rather pay a fine than speak to reporters sometimes

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WNBA star Angel Reese opened up on her fear of the media and claimed she would rather just pay a fine than speak with reporters. 

The Chicago Sky player and archrival of Caitlin Clark spoke about her thoughts on interacting with the media in the latest episode of her podcast “Unapologetically Angel,” this week. 

“Even before the game, I’m terrified of what the media is about to ask. Because it could be the nicest question, but it’s going to get flipped or put into a different light or a different perspective. It’s like, ‘Are you here intentionally to start a mess, or are you intentionally here to ask a question?’ And it’s really tough for me in the media. Like, I don’t want to do an interview with anybody,” Reese said.

“Seriously, I’d rather take the fine sometimes than talking to the media because it always gets flipped. And I think that’s where media has gotten these days. You could literally post ‘the sky is blue,’ and Angel said, ‘It’s too dark.’ Stuff like that, you know. So, I think, it’s just, for me, the media is really scary.” 

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The Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese heads to the locker room after being ejected from a game against the New York Liberty June 4, 2024, in Chicago.  (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Reese has been the subject of intense media attention dating back to the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball national championship game, when her LSU Tigers beat Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes, and Reese taunted Clark by pointing to her ring finger at the end of the game. 

Reese has become arguably the most controversial figure in women’s basketball since then. Many of Reese’s quotes and statements have often been at the center of controversy in the sport. 

Toward the end of the 2025 WNBA season in September, Reese prompted backlash for comments made to a Chicago Tribune reporter, in which the star called out her team for a last-place finish and 10-34 record. 

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“I’m not settling for the same s— we did this year,” Reese told The Chicago Tribune. “We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That’s a non-negotiable for me. I’m willing and wanting to play with the best. And however I can help to get the best here, that’s what I’m going to do this offseason. So, it’s going to be very, very important this offseason to make sure we attract the best of the best because we can’t settle for what we have this year.

“I am very vocal about what we need and what I want. I’d like to be here for my career, but if things don’t pan out, obviously I might have to move in a different direction and do what’s best for me. But while I am here, I’m going to try to stay open-minded about what I have here and maximize that as much as I can.”

Reese later apologized for the comments but claims the quotes were taken out of context. 

INSIDE CAITLIN CLARK AND ANGEL REESE’S IMPACT ON MEN’S BASKETBALL

“I probably am frustrated [with] myself right now,” Reese said at a postgame news conference Sept. 4. “I think the language is taken out of context. I really didn’t intentionally mean to put down my teammates because they’ve been through this with me throughout the whole year. They’ve busted their ass, just like I’ve busted my ass. They’ve showed up for me through thick and thin and in the locker room when nobody could see anything.

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“So, I want to apologize to my teammates, which I already have about the article and how it was misconstrued about what was said. And I just have to be better with my language. Because I know it’s not the message, it’s the messenger. And understanding what I say can be taken any kind of way. So, I just have to really be better and grow from this.”

Reese was then suspended for the first half of a game later that week for “statements detrimental to the team.”

In May, Reese was at the center of a WNBA investigation into “hateful” comments made against her during the Sky’s season opener against Clark’s Connecticut Fever. 

Reese was asked if she was able to provide the WNBA with details about the incident. She did not offer specifics on whether she had done so, saying, “That’s not a me question.” She also did not reveal what type of comments were made or any other specifics about what prompted the investigation.

However, moments earlier, in that same news conference with reporters, Reese said she was receiving widespread support from across the league because of the alleged incident.

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“Obviously, there’s no place in this league for that,” Reese said at that time. “I think the WNBA and our team and our organization has done a great job supporting me. … Going through this whole process, if it can happen to me. It can happen to anyone.”

Then, after the investigation ended the following week, the league did not find sufficient evidence to validate the allegations. 

Reese has previously accused Clark’s fans of racism and even alleged they created explicit AI-generated images of the Sky star and sent them to her family members. 

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese dribbles against the Minnesota Lynx in the first quarter at Target Center.  (Brad Rempel/Imagn Images)

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“I think it’s really just the fans, her fans, the Iowa fans, now the Indiana fans, that are really just, they ride for her, and I respect that, respectfully. But sometimes it’s very disrespectful. I think there’s a lot of racism when it comes to it,” Reese said in the first episode of her podcast in early September. 

“Multiple occasions, people have made AI images of me naked. They have sent it to my family members. My family members are like uncles, sending it to me like, ‘Are you naked on Instagram?’

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Auburn fans shower officials with debris after wild buzzer-beater gets overturned

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Auburn fans shower officials with debris after wild buzzer-beater gets overturned

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A chaotic scene unfolded at Auburn University on Tuesday night as a wild buzzer-beater was waved off well after the Tigers had celebrated on their own court.

With 0.6 seconds remaining and Auburn trailing 90-88, KeShawn Murphy, somehow left wide open, caught an inbounds pass and nailed a long 3-pointer for what was thought to be the game-winner.

However, officials went to the scorer’s table to review the play, which was awfully close.

 

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Auburn Tigers players watch the replay of a possible game-winning shot that was called back as Auburn Tigers take on Texas A&M Aggies at Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Jake Crandall/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

Ultimately, officials ruled that the shot had not gone off in time, ending the Tigers’ celebration and prompting one from Texas A&M.

The officials quickly made themselves public enemy number one and were showered with debris from fans on their way off the court. At least one referee needed his head to be covered.

One fan sitting courtside even turned his back and threw his drink over his shoulder aimed at an official.

“They didn’t say a word. They just said it was no good and ran off the floor. I probably wouldn’t want to talk to me in that moment, anyway,” Auburn head coach Steven Pearl, who took over for his dad, Bruce this season, said after the game. “So, I get why they’d run away from me. Just from the angles that I saw, it looked like it was off his fingers. But that was just, I don’t have all the same angles they have.”

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Texas A&M Aggies players celebrate victory as Auburn Tigers take on Texas A&M Aggies at Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Jake Crandall/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

LOOKING BACK AT THE SPORTS GAMBLING CONTROVERSIES THROUGHOUT 2025, WITH NBA AND MLB INVESTIGATIONS LEADING WAY

It is now six losses in their last 10 games for the Tigers after starting 5-1. They lost in the Final Four last year to Florida, who won the national championship over Houston.

Auburn (9-6, 0-2) led 47-37 at halftime and extended the margin to 61-45 with 12:29 remaining.

KeShawn Murphy of the Auburn Tigers reacts after officials ruled that his last-second shot did not beat the shot clock to win the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Neville Arena on Jan. 6, 2026 in Auburn, Alabama. (Stew Milne/Getty Images)

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Texas A&M answered with a steady run fueled by outside shooting, taking its first lead at 8:42 when Pop Isaacs buried a 3-pointer. The Aggies followed with back-to-back triples from Isaacs to open a five-point cushion that they would not relinquish, by the skin of their teeth.

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Former NFL player Jordan Shipley is in critical condition after accident on his ranch

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Former NFL player Jordan Shipley is in critical condition after accident on his ranch

Two-time All-American wide receiver and prominent Outdoors Channel host Jordan Shipley is in critical condition after an accident on his ranch in Texas, his family said in a statement.

Shipley, 40, was described as stable after remaining hospitalized Tuesday night in Austin. The statement said a machine that he was operating near his hometown of Burnet caught fire. The former Texas great suffered “severe burns on his body.”

Shipley abruptly retired in 2012 after three NFL seasons primarily because of persistent concussion issues and chronic knee problems. He quickly transitioned to television shows that showcased his passion for deer hunting, co-hosting “The Bucks of Tecomate” and “Tecomate Whitetail Nation.”

“It was not hard at all,” Shipley said at the time of retiring at 27. “Only because I never saw myself as a football player first. Don’t get me wrong, I worked my tail off for football and I loved it but never saw that as my whole identity because I had such a big background in outdoors. Really, with this opportunity I had I was actually pretty excited about moving forward.”

Although he enjoyed a strong rookie season with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2010 with 52 receptions for 600 yards and three touchdowns, he is best remembered as a record-setting player at Texas.

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Shipley starred as a receiver and a kick returner from 2006 to 2009, setting program single-season records in 2009 with 116 receptions and 1,489 yards. He also remains the career leader for receptions with 248 and ranks second in career receiving yards with 3,191, behind Roy Williams. Shipley also returned four punts or kickoffs for touchdowns.

After being drafted in the third round by the Bengals, he became one of the most popular players with Cincinnati fans, and his No. 11 jersey was worn by thousands. After a debilitating knee injury early in the 2011 season, he was never the same player, and he had short stints with Tampa Bay and Jacksonville before retiring.

According to his family, Jordan was operating a machine at his ranch when it caught fire. He managed to free himself from the machine, but “not before sustaining severe burns on his body in the process.” Jordan was airlifted to the hospital in Austin.

“He was able to get to one of his workers on the ranch, who drove him to a local hospital. He was then care-flighted to Austin, where he remains in critical but stable condition,” the statement said.

Shipley’s younger brother, former Texas wide receiver Jaxon Shipley, 33, asked for prayers in a statement on Instagram: “Please pray for full healing and no infections or other issues on his road to recovery. I don’t want to get into all the details, other than his life was spared today by the grace of God and the sheer will to live. I believe prayer is effective so I’m asking anyone and everyone to lift Jordan up in prayer.”

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Tom Izzo explodes on former Michigan State player in wild scene: ‘What the f— are you doing?’

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Tom Izzo explodes on former Michigan State player in wild scene: ‘What the f— are you doing?’

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Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo has been known to get visibly angry with his players over his years in East Lansing, but what happened Monday night against USC was different.

Izzo let loose his frustration on a former player.

During the Spartans’ blowout over the Trojans, 80-51, Izzo was spotted unloading on former Michigan State center Paul Davis, who played for the team from 2002-06, after he caused a disturbance in the stands.

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Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans reacts to a call during a game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena Jan. 2, 2026, in Lincoln, Neb. (Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)

Referees pointed out Davis, who was a spectator, from his courtside seat after he was among many in the building who disagreed with a call in the second half. Davis stood up and shouted at referee Jeffrey Anderson.

Anderson responded with a loud whistle, stopping play and pointing at Davis. Then, Anderson went over to Izzo to explain what happened, and the 70-year-old coach went ballistic.

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First, he was motioning toward Davis, and it was clear he asked his former center, “What the f— are you doing?”

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Davis was met by someone asking him to leave his seat, and that’s when Izzo went nuts. He shouted “Get out of here!” at Davis, who appeared to gesture toward Izzo, perhaps in apology for disturbing the game.

Izzo was asked about Davis’ ejection after the game.

“What he said, he should never say anywhere in the world,” Izzo responded when asked what happened. “That ticked me off. So, just because it’s 25, 20 years later, I’m going to have to call him tomorrow and tell him what I thought of it. And you know what he’ll say? ‘I screwed up, coach. I’m sorry.’”

Izzo quickly clarified that what Davis said “wasn’t something racial” and “it wasn’t something sexual.”

Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo protests a call that benefited the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center Dec. 2, 2025. (Dale Young/Imagn Images)

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“It was just the wrong thing to say, and I’ll leave it at that.”

Davis later met with reporters Tuesday, apologizing for his actions.

“I’m not up here to make any excuses. I’m up here to take accountability, to own it,” Davis said. It was a mistake that will never happen again. It was a mistake that’s not me, but, unfortunately, last night it was.”

Izzo said Davis was one of his “favorite guys” during his time playing for the Spartans. He had a breakout sophomore campaign with 15.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and two assists per game in 30 starts for Izzo during the 2003-04 season.

Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans reacts during a game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena Jan. 2, 2026, in Lincoln, Neb.  (Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)

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In his senior year, Davis averaged 17.5 points, a career-high, in 33 games.

He was taken in the second round of the 2006 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. Davis played just four seasons in the league, his final one with the Washington Wizards.

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