‘Sets a horrible example’: Criticism mounts for Angel Reese after she elbows opponent in the face and taunts her

The Atlanta Dream played host to the Las Vegas Aces on Monday night in a matchup of two teams firmly in the WNBA playoff picture entering the last two months of the regular season. The night was even more special for Atlanta as it celebrated “Barbie Night,” which honored star forward Angel Reese, whose nickname is “Barbie.”

Reese recently debuted her own signature Barbie doll with Mattel, featuring Reese’s ponytail, pink nails, and an all-pink game-day look, and talked before the game about the importance of having a doll that young black dolls could play with.

“I didn’t have a lot of dolls because I didn’t have dolls that looked like me much, and that’s why I kind of wanna really wanted to make sure this was super intentional,” she said before the game.

Angel Reese on why she created her Barbie:

“I didn’t have a lot of dolls because I didn’t have dolls that looked like me much, and that’s why I kind of wanna really wanted to make sure this was super intentional …”

(Q:?) pic.twitter.com/bM1hjsyxDe

— Meghan L. Hall (@ItsMeghanLHall) August 3, 2026

Although the Dream lost in blowout fashion, with a final score of 109-87, Reese made sure to leave her mark on the floor. She finished the game with only a -3 +/- in a game Atlanta lost by 22 points, and scored 23 points of her own on an efficient 10-for-19 from the field, all while snagging 16 rebounds and making a massive impact defensively.

As great as she was, some fans were upset about one play involving Reese in the second half, as the game was starting to get out of hand. During the play in question, Reese inadvertently elbows Aces defender Stephanie Talbot in the face as she makes a move to the basket. Surprisingly, Talbot was called for the foul, and Reese stood over her and made the “and-1” gesture while Talbot held her face on the ground.

The league is responsible for creating this. Once you fake a racial conflict and are able to get a white coach suspended over a nothing-burger, you feel powerful enough to act like this with impunity. pic.twitter.com/B6JLwBj1wg

— Annika 🌊 Deluxe Edition (@Phlob) August 4, 2026

Fans on social media weren’t shy about how they felt about the exchange.

“She’s so funny, out here acting tough. We know your not tough. We’ve seen you cry and lose control of your emotions. We’ve seen you get angry and talk about how you grew the games popularity too. Only the small minority believes the BS she lies about,” one fan posted on X.

“This charity league sets a horrible example for little girls it is meant to inspire,” another fan added.

“I think there’s something missing there because she shows no remorse when hurting other players,” someone else wrote.

What these Reese detractors are missing is that basketball is a contact sport, and an emotional one at that. Sometimes physical play happens in the course of the game, and as professional athletes and competitors, the women in the WNBA are prepared for it and embrace it. It goes both ways; there were plenty of times in the game when Aces star A’ja Wilson let Reese hear it after making a play for Las Vegas. There’s no need to infantilize the WNBA’s athletes; they’re ready for the moment and to compete at the highest level.