Calls Mount Against Chicago Sky After Tyler Marsh Snubs Star Over Angel Reese Act

Who’s Team Ironman and who’s Team Captain America in the Chicago Sky’s own Civil War? Much like the Avengers back in the day, the Sky seems to be on the brink of collapse. If you are not up to date with the drama, it all started when Angel Reese called out the management in a scathing interview. “I’m not settling for the same s— we did this year,” Reese told the Tribune. “We have to get good players. We have to get great players.” 

That was just one out of many arrows Reese sent towards the Sky management and the locker room by extension. Even threatening to “move in a different direction” if things don’t pan out. However, the heat cooled after a while as she apologized to her teammates, saying, “I really didn’t intentionally mean to put down my teammates.” That could have been the end of the matter, at least publicly. Instead, the management suspended her for the first half of their next game against the Las Vegas Aces for “statements detrimental to the team.” 

That was not all, as the statement mentioned, “This matter has been handled and resolved internally, and we are moving forward as a team.” Not quite, around the same time as the management decided to suspend Reese, her teammates revealed what they felt about her interview. Ariel Atkins backed the decision publicly while Rachel Banham voiced frustration. Elizabeth Williams offered a measured defense of intent.

“Ownership handled it how they see fit,” Atkins told the Sun-Times. “They have full support from our team.” On the other hand, Banham was just exasperated. She said, “I’m so over all of this s—. If I was younger, it would have affected me more. But I’m grown, and I just don’t care.” Williams gave Reese some credit, saying, “She obviously doesn’t want to disrespect us or anything like that”.

The organization has moved forward, but the controversy lingers, with fans outraged that Williams is already paying the price for supporting Reese.

Tyler Marsh’s Decision on Angel Reese Supporter Angers Fans Further

With the background scenes looking like a soap opera, it was easy to forget there was still a game to play. But, well, they ended up merging. The Chicago Sky went up against the Indiana Fever, and Tyler Marsh opted for an interesting starting lineup. He replaced Williams to give rookie Maddy Westbeld her first start of the season. Any other day that could have had a dozen interpretations. However, with Williams supporting Angel Reese, it had only one. 

So wait… hours after news of the suspension of Angel Reese for comments to the press perceived to be about teammates, her teammates make negative comments to the press about her, but they’re not suspended? And the one person who stuck up for Angel is coming off the bench behind…

— Carter2x (@TulaneTiger) September 6, 2025

“The Chicago Sky FO have proven to be petty and vindictive time and time again. Not starting Elizabeth Williams after she spoke out in support of Angel is literally retribution,” wrote one fan. This move brought back weight to the fact that there is a reason the Sky were voted the worst-run organisation in the league in The Athletic’s anonymous poll. Their practice facility, or lack thereof, was one of the prime reasons, but like one player said, “A lot of stuff always seems to be going on there.” From firing Teresa Weatherspoon without any warning to the Chennedy Carter saga earlier this year, the team never seems peaceful.

Another fan pointed out, “Why Elizabeth Williams ain’t start today?? She been starting when Angel Reese or Kamilla was out. Again, this stupid ass team ain’t been consistent in anything since the preseason.” Williams has had 13 starts this season, almost all coming without Reese or Cardoso in the lineup. When Reese was out injured, it was Williams who took her place. She has averaged 8.4 points and 5.0 rebounds in her 21 minutes per game as opposed to Westbeld’s  3.0 points, 2.1 rebounds in 12 minutes per game. 

The game wasn’t meaningless as the Sky had a chance to spoil Indiana’s playoff hopes. With this context, changing the lineup made little sense. Williams proved the fans right as her 13-point, 11-rebound, 4-assist performance from the bench was among the only positives for the Sky in their 97-77 loss. 

“Not starting Elizabeth Williams feels like clear retaliation—not a great look. ”  Another fan wrote. But if we look at what Tyler Marsh said about Reese’s comments, things might seem a bit different. The HC partly agreed with what Williams said. “Angel wants to win, and she wants to have the things in place to be able to get there, as do all of us,” he said. So, it’s possible this was simply an unfortunate situation, maybe Marsh just wanted to get Westbeld some minutes, with no intention of playing the villain against the Fever while keeping the focus on development. That’s one way to look at it, but given the Sky’s history, fans can’t help but assume the worst.

“Chicago Sky are an unserious ass organization, but the professionalism and approach by Elizabeth Williams has been unbelievable. A vet that any team would love to have.” Another fan wrote, As a veteran with 10 years of experience, Williams took responsibility for dousing the fire to an extent. “Ultimately, I think the goal of [the interview] was just to share things she wanted to see in the future for the team and improvements that could be made,” she had further said. 

And yes, truth is, Elizabeth Williams is the kind of player every franchise wishes they had. When she talks, you can tell it’s after weighing every angle. Off the court, she’s become a steady guide for younger teammates, while her influence has only expanded. She now serves as Secretary of the WNBPA, right in the middle of those ongoing CBA negotiations. In her words: “For me, being able to expand myself off the court as well, to be a leader, to be educated, to communicate in a way that I know I put the work in so people will listen.”

Her efforts haven’t gone unrecognized. In 2023, Williams was honored with the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award, the league’s nod to players whom they’d always prefer to lead the group project. So, when issues pop up, and they always do in pro sports, you can bet Williams will be there figuring out the solution instead of adding fuel to the fire.

The post Calls Mount Against Chicago Sky After Tyler Marsh Snubs Star Over Angel Reese Act appeared first on EssentiallySports.