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The WNBA has been under critical fire since the first day Caitlin Clark joined the league.
While being in the midst of culture war battles, Clark has also been the victim of some hard fouls due to what’s commonly been perceived as massive jealousy from her peers.
As the WNBA has dealt with its own apparent battle amid its players on different sides of the transgender athlete debate, the league drummed up even more controversy after deleting a post about a wager between Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers.
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Shaquille O’Neal speaks onstage during the The Big Podcast panel at Fanatics Fest NYC 2026 at Jacob Javits Center on July 17, 2026, in New York City. (Rob Kim/Getty Images for Fanatics)
The two stars recorded a video in which they wagered $400 on a recent game between their respective teams – betting of any kind is strictly prohibited under the WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement, with Section 5 of Article 14 in the agreement dedicated to gambling regulations. A WNBA spokesperson released a statement on Thursday claiming that the quickly deleted video was “intended to be lighthearted,” but that it “simply missed the mark.”
NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, though, saw practically nothing wrong with what Reese and Bueckers did.
Paige Bueckers #5 of the Dallas Wings plays defense on Angel Reese #5 of the Atlanta Dream on May 22, 2026 at Gateway Center Arena at College Park in Atlanta, Georgia. (Joe Boatman/NBAE via Getty Images)
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“That’s what we call a ‘homeboy bet.’ If it falls under gambling, it would be under the misdemeanor section; people need to stop it. She’s not f—ing point shaving,” O’Neal told Fox News Digital recently.
The former big man also admitted that there is “professional jealousy” when it comes to Clark, but “it’s what we call the rites of passage.”
“There’s girls that are going ‘You don’t talk about me like that, you talk about her.’ You gotta take advantage of that opportunity. You have to go at who they think the best is. If you got other people coming at her, then it is what it is. Once she gets through this next year and keeps playing the way she’s playing, they’ll have no choice but to love and accept it,” O’Neal said. “But this is what we call rites of passage. We don’t just let youngsters come in and take over because they’re getting all the props from the media.
“Caitlin’s a tough cookie. She’ll be able to get over it. Angel’s throwing ‘bows, talking smack, letting everyone know ‘I’m not scared.’ Caitlin’s probably gotta do a little more of that.”
Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever drives to the basket against Angel Reese of the Atlanta Dream during the second quarter at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 20, 2026. (Colin Hubbard/Getty Images)
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Clark recently went after the WNBA, saying it needs to do a better job of protecting its players both on and off the court.
OutKick’s Mark Harris contributed to this report.
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