Sophie Cunningham Calls Out Angel Reese for 'Dangerous' Plays, Talks 'Weird' Non-Calls by WNBA Refs

Ahead of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday between the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries, Angel Reese found herself a prominent topic on Sophie Cunningham's podcast stemming from plays that occurred in the semifinals.

On the latest episode of her podcast (starts at 15:30 mark), Cunningham called out "dangerous" plays she saw from Reese against the New York Liberty and criticized the officials for "weird" non-calls potentially in an attempt to protect star players.

"Angel is going to play hard," Cunningham said. "She is a player who goes after the ball. I appreciate that about players of her wanting to get on the floor and make the extra effort. Sometimes, people and the way they carry themselves and who they are, they don't wanna get down and dirty like this; and she is, so I'm gonna give her credit there. But you can't tackle someone in the air and then go for someone's knees and ankles. That's a dangerous play. Technically, both of those are a little dangerous. And for those just to go uncalled, is that not weird? Am I missing something?"

Cunningham did start out by praising Reese as someone who plays hard and appreciative of her effort in games. The plays she was specifically discussing both occurred in Game 3 between the Dream and New York Liberty.

The first was when Reese jumped toward Breanna Stewart like she was attempting to block a shot after the officials had called a foul on Rhyne Howard. Stewart was knocked to the ground as a result of the contact.

The second play occurred early in the fourth quarter when Reese appeared to dive going for a loose ball after the officials had called a timeout and she made contact with the legs of Marine Fauthoux.

Neither play resulted in a foul called against Reese. The "dirty player" label has followed Reese around dating back to her college days.

An anonymous WNBA general manager told ESPN's Katie Barnes in March 2024 that Reese had moments that were "disrespectful" to the game.

"Some of the stuff she does is disrespectful to the game," the GM said. "The dirty play hurts her for sure."

The bigger issue, arguably, is once again the officiating in WNBA games. Players and coaches, including Caitlin Clark and Becky Hammon , have been vocal about it.

While it will be on the league to figure out how to improve the quality of officiating in the future, Reese is getting ready for her first appearance in the Finals. She will lead the Dream into Game 1 against Golden State at Chase Center on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET.