Two-time WNBA All-Star Renee Montgomery has recently come under fire. The Atlanta Dream co-owner and vice president sparked controversy after an unfiltered rant on her podcast, targeting a specific group of Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark’s supporters.
Montgomery criticized what she referred to as Clark “stans” for crossing ethical lines, particularly in their treatment of Clark’s rival, Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky. She claimed that some of these fans have gone so far as to create fake nude photos of Reese.
“A diehard [Atlanta] Falcons fan can hate the [New Orleans] Saints,” Montgomery explained during a recent episode of her “Montgomery & Company” podcast. “But they’d be crossing the line if they created AI-generated nude images of Saints players and sent them to the players’ families. That’s exactly 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…
— Playoff CC Report (@cc22report) September 17, 2024
“Those aren’t Caitlin Clark fans or stans; they’re online trolls seeking attention and engagement. All popular athletes and teams, especially in the NBA, deal with them. Remember ‘Meet me in Temecula.’ Angel Reese has them too. It sucks. Those people suck, but the more we talk about them, the more we give them what they want — our attention,” one comment stated.
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
