Claressa Shields Ranks Herself Above Angel Reese in Being Worthy of BET Sportswoman Award

Claressa Shields went back and forth with sports fans after questioning whether Angel Reese deserved the BET award.

Claressa Shields Ranks Herself Above Angel Reese in Being Worthy of BET Sportswoman Award

Clarissa Shields, Angel Reese (FS Image)

Being a famous person with constant media attention certainly isn’t for the light or faint of heart. It is a very taxing thing to always be in the headlines, often for stuff that doesn’t even make sense. Angel Reese is a prime example of this – her life since wagging her ring finger at Caitlin Clark has changed fully. Even though she was a popular women’s basketball player with many followers, the limelight is now different.

Although she hasn’t necessarily done the best job of presenting herself to the public, Reese often receives unfair criticism. Living a full life while constantly being made fun of, belittled and trolled seems like an impossible task for her. For instance, Angel Reese was awarded her third straight BET Sportswoman of the Year on Monday, June 9. But this time, people questioned how much she actually deserved the accolade.

Many deserving women, it has been argued, were passed up in order to give her this recognition. The argument holds a lot of weight, at least for people online. But its one thing to be targeted by random people, and another when a recognizable black athlete poses the same question. This is the reality that Reese is currently dealing with. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields tweeted about this today, saying:

Still don’t know how I didn’t win the Sportswoman of the Year for the BET Awards. But Congrats to Angel Reese and all the other Nominees. I just thought accolades mattered.

She followed up that tweet with a more detailed explanation:

Ain’t nobody saying Angel Reese don’t have accolades or she not good…. I’m saying I thought the person with “THE MOST” accolades & accomplishments would win the Award. I’m team Angel Reese!

Claressa Shields is certainly one of the freakiest athletes in women’s sports history. She is the only boxer, male or female, to hold all four major boxing titles in three different weight classes. Shields won the WBC heavyweight title last year and sealed an undisputed heavyweight championship in a February 2025 bout. Quite clearly, she has sealed her name as the most dominant female boxer in American history. She has a right to feel aggrieved after securing a boatload of accolades.

Angel Reese is facing a tough 2025 WNBA season

Although she finished the 2024 WNBA season on a strong note, Angel Reese seems to have hit a sophomore wall. She is currently averaging a paltry 30% field goal percentage, while her scoring is down to two-thirds of her rookie year. The Sky are in free fall, and have lost veteran point guard Courtney Vandersloot to an ACL tear.

This season from hell is only going to get worse as the year progresses. The Sky have already lost two games in absolute blowouts to their arch rival Indiana Fever. The second loss came even with Caitlin Clark in courtside seats, cheering her teammates on while recovering from injury. The narrative of a rivalry between Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark is dead and buried unless the Sky can hang with Indiana.

All in all, there isn’t a lot for Reese’s Pieces (as her fanbase is called) to cheer about right now. The one thing they did get to cheer for is something that other basketball and sports fans believe is undeserved.

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