In an example of unity among Chicago's professional athletes, Bulls guard Lonzo Ball spoke up in defense of Sky rookie Angel Reese, who received the first ejection of her young WNBA career Tuesday.
Ball, who was on hand for the game, took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his disappointment in the officials and his support for Reese by offering to pay any potential fines.
"Ref that threw out [Reese] is weak [by the way]," Ball wrote. "You know who you are (Keep ya money Angel I got you)." Reese responded by quoting Ball's post and saying, "Appreciate you gang!" along with a few emojis to show her appreciation.
Here is more on Reese's ejection and the impending punishment that Ball is willing to take care of.
MORE: Angel Reese's Caitlin Clark comment went viral for all the wrong reasons
Why was Angel Reese ejected?
Reese was ejected after receiving consecutive technical fouls in Chicago's loss to the New York Liberty. The first technical foul was for contact made with Liberty center Jonquel Jones. Reese received another technical for her reaction to the foul.
Here is what lead official Maj Forsberg offered on the decision to eject Reese:
After being called for the technical foul, Reese then waves off the calling official in resentment to the call and is assessed a second technical foul. Since there are two separate acts, the combination of two technicals resulted in Angel Reese being ejected from the game.
Reese was ejected by official Charles Watson, who, in addition to officiating WNBA games, has called games in the NBA G League and NCAA. Ball's insinuation that he is familiar with Watson could date back to his college days.
Evidently, the WNBA didn't agree with the officials' decision to eject Reese. The league rescinded one of the technicals assessed to Reese on Wednesday, per Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune.
MORE: Why Angel Reese was ejected late in loss to Liberty
Angel Reese fine
Here is what the WNBA's rulebook states about fines for technical fouls:
Recipients of technical fouls for unsportsmanlike conduct will be assessed a fine for the first offense and an additional fine for the second offense in any one given game
WNBA players are fined $200 for each of their first three technical fouls in a season, according to Indiana Fever and Pacers beat writer Scott Agness. A seventh technical foul results in an automatic suspension, which would be one game without pay.
On June 2, Reese was fined $1,000 "for failing to make herself available to the media for interviews" after a loss to the Fever.
Angel Reese stats
Reese ranks second among all rookies in points per game and leads her rookie class in rebounding. Reese's average of 5.0 offensive rebounds per game leads the league.
She has recorded two double-doubles, including a 13-point, 10-rebound effort before getting ejected.
- 10.9 points per game
- 9.0 rebounds per game
- 1.8 assists per game
- 1.1 steals per game
- 33.8 percent field goal shooting
- 70.2 percent free throw shooting