Angel Reese is facing harsh criticism from Caitlin Clark fans after she rejected her Rookie of the Year win to promote her podcast

Angel Reese was criticized online for promoting her podcast before congratulating Caitlin Clark on being named WNBA Rookie of the Year.

Clark won the award Thursday in a near-unanimous vote, giving the Indiana Fever back-to-back winners after Aliyah Boston won the award last season.

A national panel of sportswriters and sports reporters gave Clark 66 of 67 votes in the vote released Thursday. Reese, the Chicago Sky forward, received the other.

Fans were angry that Clark didn’t win the award unanimously and launched a search for the only person who didn’t vote for the former Iowa Hawkeyes player.

They then turned their anger back on Reese after she promoted the next episode of her podcast, “Unapologetically Angel,” before publicly acknowledging Clark’s success.

Reese posted: “NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!! WE DROPPED SOME JEWELS!!’

However, Clark fans were quick to respond. One commented: “Aren’t you going to congratulate your colleague on rookie of the year?”

Another wrote: “Make sure you shout #ROTY.”

“You lost rookie of the year but you tweet this,” a third critic added.

The WNBA’s worst-kept secret was finally confirmed Thursday after Clark, currently at the center of another heated race dispute, was named rookie of the year.

Although a whopping 98.5 percent of voters — consisting of two local journalists from each WNBA market and a number of national writers — chose her as the winner, it wasn’t a unanimous victory for the Fever sensation.

Incredibly, one of 66 voters chose Reese as rookie of the year instead, even though the Chicago Sky forward didn’t make the postseason while Clark inspired Indiana to their first playoff appearance since 2016.

A number of fans are desperate to know who the mystery electorate is, which has led to several reporters going to X to deny being the culprit.

“Just so we’re clear… it wasn’t me,” wrote Connecticut reporter Terrika Foster-Brasby. “I voted for CC. “So don’t blast me and don’t call me a hater because IT WASN’T TERRIKA.”

WNBA journalist Khristina Williams also confirmed that she was not the voter responsible for choosing Reese, saying, “I had Caitlin Clark on my ballot for Rookie of the Year.”

It comes at a time of racial tension across the WNBA after USA Today columnist and Clark biographer Christine Brennan asked Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington if he poked the Indiana Fever rookie in the eye – a question which was deemed “racist” by the WNBA players union.

Clark, the No. 1 overall pick out of Iowa, averaged 19.2 points and a league-best 8.4 assists per game, helping the WNBA set attendance records and capture mainstream attention.

She struggled a bit early in the season, but found her rhythm and was an all-star starter. The unanimous AP Rookie of the Year led the Fever to the playoffs for the first time since 2016, posting a 20-20 record after a 1-8 start.

“I am incredibly honored to be named Rookie of the Year, but more than that, I am grateful to everyone who supported me this past season – my family and friends, my teammates, the Fever organization and everyone who supported us cheered us on.” Season. “I am so proud of what we have accomplished and so excited about the future,” Clark said in a statement.

Off the field, Clark, Reese and their fellow rookies were a ratings and viewership boon for the WNBA.

Six different league television partners set viewership records for the most-watched WNBA game this year. All of these games involved the Fever.

Indiana led the league both home and away. Fever averaged 17,036 at home and more than 15,000 while away.

When Indiana came to town, four teams moved their home games to larger arenas to accommodate more fans.