Angel Reese snagged her third straight BET Sportswoman of the Year award, beating A’ja Wilson, Coco Gauff, Dawn Staley, Juju Watkins, and former teammate Flau’jae Johnson. She got the BET Award on Monday. But not everyone was happy for Reese—boxer Claressa Shields, who was also up for the award, was pretty disappointed and didn’t have a problem expressing it; she said, “I just thought accolades mattered.”
Shields tweeted, “Still don’t know how I didn’t win the Sportswoman of the Year for the BET Awards, but congrats to Angel Reese and all the other nominees.”
Shields has had an impressive year. In July, she defeated Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse to snag the WBO light heavyweight and WBC heavyweight titles. Then, in February, she scored another big win against Danielle Perkins for the WBA heavyweight title.
Shields, who’s won gold at the Olympics twice, was pretty straightforward about backing Reese but felt she deserved the award.
“Ain’t nobody saying Angel Reese don’t have accolades or she not good…. I’m saying I thought the person with “THE MOST” accolades & accomplishments would win the Award,” Shields posted, adding, “I’m team Angel Reese!”
Reese won the award three straight years before her back-to-back wins in the category; Naomi Osaka won in 2022.
