CHICAGO (CBS) A celebrity is on the other side of the rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. During an intimate interview on the All the Smoke podcast, though, she identified one of the less obvious baddies, one that is more pervasive than ever amid the social media era: The constant in-your-face sound of social media, and the crummy opinion that comes with it. She was pointed and pertinent and all too human.
And More Than a Rivalry: Two Icons, One Spotlight
It is not a coincidence that the Caitlin Clark versus Angel Reese plot was what caught everyone around the world. Upon their titanic collision in the 2023 NCAA title game that included Reese taunting her opposition at one point, leading both to celebration and backlash, up to this spring, the WNBA opening game, they have established their dynamic contest as full of drama, prowess, and narration.
And Clark has risen like a meteor- attendance records, media publicity, and national honors. ([turn0search29], [turn0search28]) Meanwhile, Reese plowed over her history: MVP in both championship games at LSU, a record number of rebounds, a redefinition of the term assertive.
Sometimes the chemistry between them was like star versus star. However, it has become political due to the expectations, racial connotations, and overcrowding of the lens of real-time opinions.
Hate Is Always With You-Michelle I’ll say it, Michelle will tell the truth
Michelle Obama did not sugarcoat on All the Smoke.
The hatred…is sitting in your room, in your phone with you every second of the day…you yourself can do nothing to make these kids turn it down.”
It is just easier now to resist other people with their horrible, horrible opinions.”
Her words do not take the abstract form. They are a lived experience of these women: social spaces meant to empower come to their ears on all second of their lives: congrats, threats, popular stereotypes, in real-time updates.
A Broader Reflection: Race, Double Standards, and Representation
Even before the WNBA drama, Reese faced skewed reactions. When she taunted during LSU’s championship run, critics called it “classless”—a fire she believes would’ve been absent had the gesture been her white counterpart performing it. ([turn0search25]) That moment elevated a deeper societal scrutiny on how Black women athletes are judged versus their peers.
Michelle’s message amplified that context. It’s not just about the athletes playing hard—it’s about enduring opinions shaped by bias, amplified by algorithms.
Angel Resilience: Retaking the Story
Reese has managed to react extremely ingeniously and shamelessly. See her trademark of mebounds, a joke about the trolling that she is just a rebounder.: Instead of pulling back, she has welcomed it- and it has turned into a potential six-figure opportunity.
This is not a defense mechanism-this is curveball leadership. She doesn’t only play the game, she is the one revising the rules of the game.
In the process, the two athletes have been claiming that the look of competition is not hate. Reese described her shaky beginning with Clark as the result of simply playing basketball. Clark responded, “We don’t want to make that more than it is…”
The Price of Digital Echo Chambers
The insight of Michelle has a strong center: social media not only highlights, you are stuck in it.
The players have to interact at the professional level through the internet, but they are unable to self-exclude from toxicity. There is no option to delete the app, but the roots of the brand, presence, and anticipation that they take everywhere, including hotel rooms and locker rooms.
Compare that with days when sports criticism was papered. Now it tinkers in your pocket.
Follow-Up to History: Cope With High Pressure
It has already happened- Sarah Robles, Michelle Kwan, Serena Williams. Talented athletes have forever had an additional naysaying to endure, be it based on race, gender, or style. Still, their day jobs were on the court, the ice, or the field.
Stars such as Clark and Reese have narratives now 24/7, and that is new.
It seems prophetic that Michelle strings that cloth: these people are not merely athletes, but cultural shorthand, figures detached in a sense of culture, but always closely attached to its shenanigans.
Final Reflection
The words of Michelle Obama do not sound like coach speak; it is a soul check. Behind news and voyeuristic headlines are people who are under unending scrutiny of the people.
