WNBA star Angel Reese: ‘Protect young women in sports’

Angel Reese, the former LSU national champion who was a top selection in the WNBA Draft last week, put out a simple post about women in sports on Monday.

The new Chicago Sky star urged followers and anyone who read her posts on X to “protect young women in sports!!!”

 

Angel Reese at the draft

Angel Reese smiles during the 2024 WNBA Draft on April 14, 2025 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, New York. (Melanie Fidler/NBAE via Getty Images)

Reese did not explain further, but the post reached more than 1.4 million impressions by the afternoon.

The post from Reese came days after the Biden administration unveiled new rules aimed at safeguarding LGBTQ+ students and changing the ways in which sexual harassment and assault claims are adjudicated on campus. However, missing from the new rule was a policy forbidding schools from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes competing against biological females.

The White House was widely expected to bring in such a policy but has instead put the provision on hold. The delay is widely seen as a political maneuver during an election year in which Republicans have rallied around bans on transgender athletes in girls’ sports.

Angel Reese in the tournament

Angel Reese, #10 of the LSU Tigers, shoots the ball during the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Final of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament – Albany Regional at MVP Arena on April 1, 2024 in Albany, New York. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

 

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley also admitted before the national championship that she would support a transgender athlete in women’s basketball.

Reese’s remarks also came after she lamented the increased scrutiny she has received since she helped LSU to a national championship in 2023. Since then, she has had lucrative NIL deals and appeared in Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Edition.

“I’ve been through so much,” Reese told reporters after losing to Iowa in the tournament. “I’ve seen so much. I’ve been attacked so many times, death threats. I’ve been sexualized. I’ve been threatened. I’ve been so many things, and I’ve stood strong every single time.

Angel Reese and Cameron Brink

Draftees Angel Reese, left, and Cameron Brink pose for a phot during the 2024 WNBA Draft on April 14, 2024 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, New York. (Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images)

 

“I just try to stand strong for my teammates because I don’t want them to see me down and not be there for them. I’m still a human. All this has happened since I won the national championship. I haven’t had peace since then.”