The Sky have taken a somewhat odd tact in disciplining star forward Angel Reese for recent comments she made.
Earlier this week, Reese was openly critical of the state of the Sky, telling the Chicago Tribune's Julia Poe. "I’m not settling for the same s--- we did this year. We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That’s a non-negotiable for me. ... I think the priority is being able to convince [free agents] that this is an organization that is going in the right direction."
After Chicago's win against the Sun on Wednesday, Reese apologized to her teammates and told reporters that she felt some of her comments were taken out of context.
While you might have thought that would be the end of the issue, you would be wrong. On Friday, the Sky issued a statement saying that Reese was to be suspended for the first half of the team’s September 7 matchup against the Las Vegas Aces after making “statements detrimental to the team.”
Reese was already set to serve a one-game suspension from the league on Friday night against the Fever for accruing her eighth technical foul of the year. Now, she’ll add an extra half onto that suspension, via her own team.
On the one hand, teams have the right to handle internal matters however they choose. On the other, a half-game suspension is quite literally a half-measure, and is a disciplinary decision that feels out of high school or college athletics rather than professional sport.
Many commentators online were critical of the Sky’s decision, noting that it made the organization appear unserious.
Be for real, man. https://t.co/3kr5f4LFpY
— Tony East (@TonyREast) September 5, 2025
half game suspension is so unserious 😭 why would she even want to stick around in Chicago atp https://t.co/kgGxwkMvfZ
— Ross Pins (@chisportsross) September 5, 2025
Suspending her a half-game is crazy. What she said was out of pocket but I have to imagine there are other — and more importantly, better — ways to handle internal discipline https://t.co/WdM0hNRpKU
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) September 5, 2025
It just feels like there would be more beneficial ways to handle this situation internally, rather than issuing a public statement that throws your star player under the bus while also showing that your organization didn’t feel bold enough to make the suspension a full game. There are other ways to handle this.
Anyways, Reese is now scheduled to see the court next in the second half of Sunday’s game against the Aces.
More WNBA on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chicago Sky Hit Angel Reese With Bizarre Suspension After Comments Critical of Team.
