Azzi Fudd’s Parents Point Out the Difference Between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese have become rivals on the court, fueled by matchups that date to the NCAA Tournament and have carried over into the WNBA.
In college, when Clark’s Iowa team faced Reese’s LSU squad in the 2023 national title game, Reese hit Clark with the infamous “You Can’t See Me” hand gesture after LSU won.
Fans of both players quickly took sides, and they have butted heads online since. The rivalry reignited during their first matchup of this WNBA season, when Clark was assessed a flagrant one foul for sending Reese to the ground.
Naturally, the attention given their growing rivalry hasn’t gone unnoticed by those involved in the women’s game. The parents of UConn star Azzi Fudd, a projected top-three pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, have been watching the league their daughter is set to join.
Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) reacts to a flagrant foul from Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22).
Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK
Tim Fudd and Katie Smrcka-Duffy Fudd appeared on Julian Brown’s “NOVA Legends Podcast” and said the key difference between the two players is how they’ve been treated entering the league. Clark has garnered all the attention, while Reese, like the rest of the WNBA’s stars, hasn’t received as much.
“I also think the way that the league handled Caitlin coming in, right?” Katie Smrcka-Duffy Fudd said. “You’ve got great players in the league, and then all of a sudden, amazingly, there was only Caitlin. And I think this year they’ve done a better job at that, of showcasing, and like there’s a whole WNBA commercial about A’ja Wilson, which that’s what it should be. It shouldn’t just be about Caitlin. Not saying that Caitlin not a thing to be had, right? Like she should be marketed and promoted, but it shouldn’t just be her. And so I think with that, then you bring some resentment from players and also from fans, right? Like, yo, my favorite player, you’re not showing them. And you know, and so you’ve got fans then who are in that game of criticizing how they’re running things because all you’re seeing is Caitlin.”
Tim Fudd also touched on the black versus white narrative.
“It’s a little frustrating, but I get the whole facade about it because it was such drama and it was scintillating to watch Caitlin Clark versus Angel Reese, Iowa versus LSU in the national championship game a few years ago, and it was captivating,” he said. “And it captured people’s attention, and you had to choose a side. Whether you were black or white, you had to choose a side, and it disrupted some friendships. People got blocked, they got deleted, you know, but I think it is … I would love to see it move on.”
