Two-time WNBA All-Star Renee Montgomery has found herself in hot water of late. This is after the Atlanta Dream co-owner and vice president went on an unfiltered tirade on her podcast aimed at a certain segment of supporters of Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark.
Montgomery called out what she called Clark “stans” for supposedly crossing a line in terms of their unfair and unethical treatment of Caitlin’s biggest rival, Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky. According to Montgomery, some Clark supporters have even generated fake nude photos of Reese.
“A diehard [Atlanta] Falcons fan can hate the [New Orleans] Saints,” Montgomery said on a recent episode of her “Montgomery & Company” podcast. “But they would be going a little bit too far if they created nude AI pictures of Saints players and then sent them to the Saints’ players’ families. That’s what Caitlin stans have done to Angel Reese.”
Former WNBA player Renee Montgomery arrives on the red carpet before the 2023 ESPYS
The two-time WNBA champion’s bold statement immediately went viral. While the fans on social media agree with Montgomery in terms of how unacceptable this type of behavior is, a lot of them have blasted the Dream executive for her supposed overgeneralization.
“How do you know they were Caitlin fans? Y’all assume too much and cast blame in PURE IGNORANCE!! There are plenty of weidos out there. Please refrain from stupid blaming when no one really knows from where it came. Does Reese even know?” pointed out a user.
How do you know they were Caitlin fans? Y'all assume too much and cast blame in PURE IGNORANCE!! There are plenty of weidos out there. Please refrain from stupid blaming when no one really knows from where it came. Does Reese even know?
— Publius87 (@Publius871) September 17, 2024
“This is incredibly irresponsible rhetoric coming from a TEAM OWNER Comparing the CC fan base to dogs in the twitter caption … I agree with your central thesis – racism, sexism, misogyny, death threats have no place in fandom. But this problem is not unique to the CC fandom, in fact she is victimized by it more than most,” said another.
This is incredibly irresponsible rhetoric coming from a TEAM OWNER
Comparing the CC fan base to dogs in the twitter caption
Saying "Y'all not like us, they not like us"
I agree with your central thesis – racism, sexism, misogyny, death threats have no place in fandom…
— CC Report (@cc22report) September 17, 2024
“Those aren’t Caitlin Clark fans or Stan’s they are online trolls seeking attention and engagement and all popular athletes and teams have them especially in NBA. remember Meet me in Temecula. Angel Reese has them too. It sucks. Those people sucks but the more they are talked about the more we give them what they want which is our attention,” a comment read.
Those aren’t Caitlin Clark fans or Stan’s they are online trolls seeking attention and engagement and all popular athletes and teams have them especially in NBA. remember Meet me in Temecula. Angel Reese has them too. It sucks. Those people sucks but the more they are talked…
— Robert Littal BSO (@BSO)
September 18, 2024
“You’re sensationalizing the reprehensible behavior of a few, and trying to apply it to a large fan base. Not only has CC had to endure similar behavior from her haters, she’s had to deal with it from media and other players also. Media has attacked her for her skin color and sexxuality, while players have cheap shotted her from behind while their teammates cheered,” responded a viewer.
You're sensationalizing the reprehensible behavior of a few, and trying to apply it to a large fan base. Not only has CC had to endure similar behavior from her haters, she's had to deal with it from media and other players also. Media has attacked her for her skin color and…
— Scottergate (@Scottergate) September 17, 2024
This is absolutely disgusting, irresponsible, and cheap. To call out a small rouge section of people, that may or may not actually be fans, is fine…as long as you point out it’s a small minority.
To chastise an entire fan base is completely irresponsible. Especially when that…
— Perennial Xennial (@86mypatience) September 18, 2024
There are some pretty strong opinions out there about what has emerged as a very polarizing issue.
Be that as it may, what everyone can agree on is that the behavior Montgomery described — regardless of who or what one might be supporting — just has no place in society.
