Angel Reese opens up on singing Black National Anthem while Fever fans booed her
Atlanta Dream star Angel Reese was spotted singing the Black National Anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing” at Caitlin Clark and Indiana Fever’s home on Thursday, just ahead of Juneteenth.
Reese made his sing-along speech after his team defeated the Fever for the second straight game on Saturday, recalling how Fever fans booed him in Indiana two days earlier.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. GET THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark drives to the basket against Atlanta Dream’s Angel Reese during the second quarter at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on June 20, 2026. (Colin Hubbard/Getty Images)
“It was just a product of the moment I was in, how I felt, how I was affected, and one of the things I’ve had to experience over the last couple of years, and they haven’t always been great,” Reese told reporters on Saturday. he said.
“It shouldn’t be easy, but I’m so, so grateful for the opportunity to be a Black woman, it’s a privilege… To be where I am, to be in the arena and hear the loud booing, and then when I heard ‘Lift Every Voice,’ it made me feel like this was for those who were marching for me.”
Reese also answered a question about representing “Black culture” in Atlanta.
“When those young girls, young boys out there, see that a black girl can run up and down the field and live this life and have this experience, I think that’s really important. Representation is important to me, to use my voice, to use my platform, I will never be silent about the things that I believe in,” Reese said.
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” is often referred to as the Black National Anthem. The NAACP says the hymn began as a poem written by James Weldon Johnson in 1900, with music composed by his brother, John Rosamond Johnson. A choir of 500 school children performed publicly for the first time to celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s birthday in Jacksonville, Florida.
The song has also been a part of the WNBA Juneteenth program in recent years. The NBA said in 2021, WNBA teams will play “Lift Every Voice and Sing” in arenas during Juneteenth celebrations, among other league social justice initiatives.
Reese had previously accused Clark’s fans of “racism” in the first episode of the Reese podcast in September 2024.
“I think the only thing that’s really fair is the fans, his fans, the Iowa fans, now the Indiana fans, they’re competing for him, and I respect that. But sometimes it’s so disrespectful. I think there’s a lot of racism when it comes to that,” Reese said.
WNBA INVESTIGATION FOUND NO EVIDENCE OF HATEFUL COMMENTS AGAINST ANGEL REESE
Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark shoots against Atlanta Dream’s Angel Reese during the first quarter at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on June 20, 2026. (Colin Hubbard/Getty Images)
“Many times people have created naked AI images of me. They sent it to my family members. My family members are like uncles and they’ll ask me, ‘Are you naked on Instagram?’ They send it saying “
In May of last year, after the Fever and Reese’s former team, the Chicago Sky, faced off in the first game of the season in Indiana, the WNBA launched an investigation into allegations of racist behavior by Fever fans, but the league found no evidence. Still, Reese appeared to acknowledge the allegations after the game.
“Frankly, there is no room for that in this league,” Reese said at the time. “I think the WNBA, our team and our organization have done a great job supporting me. … Going through this whole process, if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.”
Reese’s latest comments come in a high-profile week for Reese, Clark and the WNBA as the league’s two most-watched players meet twice in three days.
Reese scored 21 points and 11 rebounds and Clark scored 26 points as Atlanta defeated Indiana 108-101 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday. The Dream earned a 113-96 win over the Fever on Saturday at State Farm Arena in Atlanta; In this game, Clark again led Indiana with 26 points.
Saturday’s win also gave Reese a milestone in the league. The 6-foot-4 forward became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 1,000 career rebounds, doing so in her 79th game, 10 games faster than Tina Charles. While Reese finished the game with 18 points and 8 rebounds, Atlanta dropped to 11-4 and Indiana dropped to 9-7.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION
Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese leaves the game in the first quarter against the Las Vegas Aces at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga., on May 17, 2026. (Brett Davis/Imagn Images)
The Dream acquired Reese from the Chicago Sky in April in exchange for Atlanta’s first-round picks in 2027 and 2028. The trade brought the two-time WNBA All-Star and 2023 national champion to an Atlanta team coming off what the franchise is calling a historic 2025 season.
Reese and Clark had been connected since their college careers; especially after LSU defeated Iowa 102-85 in the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball championship game. This game attracted 9.9 million viewers and became the most watched women’s college basketball game in history.
