Caitlin Clark has helped enhance TV audiences, increase attendance, and propel the WNBA into the sports mainstream when she first joined the league.
However, as the WNBA grew in popularity this year, an undercurrent of unpleasant debate emerged between Clark's white supporters and Reese
and many of the league's other players, who are black.
Racist abuse has been directed at players online, as well as physical intimidation and even death threats.
The matter came to light Tuesday, when WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert was asked during a TV interview about her efforts to restrict social-media talk that takes a "more menacing" tone toward players' ethnicity or sexuality.
Engelbert answered that this season is the WNBA's Larry Bird-Magic Johnson breakout season, and those being attacked should simply ignore the trash.
The players' reaction was quick. Several people took to social media or gave interviews to criticize Engelbert's words.
"This is not about rivalries or iconic personalities," the WNBA Players Association wrote on X.