Reese defends singing Black National Anthem amid Fever fan backlash

Angel Reese stood in Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Thursday evening and sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing"—the hymn written in 1900 by James Weldon Johnson that has come to be known as the Black National Anthem. The moment arrived during Juneteenth programming, a celebration the WNBA has incorporated into its calendar in recent years. What might have been a straightforward gesture of cultural pride became something more complicated when Reese addressed it two days later, after her Atlanta Dream had defeated the Indiana Fever 113-96 at home.

The booing had been audible. Fever fans in Indianapolis had made their displeasure known when Reese took the court Thursday, and she did not shy away from naming that experience when reporters asked about the anthem. "It was just one in the moment of where I was, and how it felt, and how it hit, and the things that I've had to experience the last couple years, and they haven't always been great," she told the room Saturday. She framed the singing as an act of affirmation—a response to hostility, but also a statement about what it means to occupy her position. "I am very, very grateful for this opportunity to be a Black woman, it's a privilege," she said. "Being where I was, hearing the loud boos when I was in the arena, and then when I heard 'Lift Every Voice,' it just made me feel like, this is for the ones that walked for me."

Reese's comments about representation carried weight beyond the moment. She spoke about young Black girls and boys seeing her move through professional basketball, the visibility that comes with her platform, and her refusal to remain silent on matters she believes in. "Representation is important, for me to use my voice, for me to use my platform, I'll never stay silent for things I believe in," she said. This was not her first time addressing what she perceived as hostility from Indiana and Iowa fans. In September 2024, during the first episode of her podcast, she had accused fans of both schools of racism, describing incidents in which AI-generated nude images of her had been created and sent to family members. "I think there's a lot of racism when it comes to it," she had said then.

The WNBA had investigated allegations of racist behavior by Fever fans after a May game between Indiana and Reese's former team, the Chicago Sky, but found no evidence to substantiate the claims. Still, Reese acknowledged the seriousness of the matter at that time, saying there was no place in the league for such conduct. The league and her organization, she noted, had supported her through the process. "If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone," she had said.

The week in which Reese made her latest comments was significant for the WNBA and its two most-watched players. Reese and Caitlin Clark, the Fever's rookie sensation, had faced off twice in three days—a pairing that carried echoes of their college rivalry. In the 2023 NCAA championship game, LSU's Reese and her teammates had defeated Iowa's Clark 102-85 in a matchup that drew 9.9 million viewers, then a record for women's college basketball. Thursday's game in Indianapolis saw the Dream win 108-101, with Reese posting 21 points and 11 rebounds while Clark scored 26. Saturday's Atlanta victory was more decisive, and it came with a milestone for Reese: she became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 1,000 career rebounds, achieving the mark in her 79th game—ten games faster than the previous record holder, Tina Charles. She finished that game with 18 points and eight rebounds as Atlanta improved to 11-4.

Reese had arrived in Atlanta in April, traded from the Chicago Sky in exchange for the Dream's first-round picks in 2027 and 2028. She was a two-time WNBA All-Star and a 2023 national champion, joining a franchise that had just completed what it called a historic 2025 season. The collision between Reese and Clark—between their histories, their fan bases, and the different ways they were received—had become one of the league's defining narratives. Reese's decision to sing the Black National Anthem, and her willingness to explain it as a response to boos and as an affirmation of her identity, was part of that larger story.