Fox News reporter Jackson Thompson said he asked Caitlin Clark about Angel Reese because he genuinely wanted to clarify their relationship and was not trying to stir up drama.
Fox News reporter Jackson Thompson has explained why he asked Caitlin Clark about her friendship with Angel Reese after Team USA won the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, saying the question was not intended to create controversy.
Thompson discussed the viral exchange during an appearance with Dan Dakich.
“I don’t want to assume why the question upset her. She has a lot of obligations and responsibility as a leader of the sport,” Thompson said. “But one thing I will say as a fact is that I did not ask the question to be inflammatory or divisive. Quite the opposite, actually.”
“I asked the question because I was genuinely curious about what I had seen that week between the two players, as they looked like friends,” he continued. “And I believed other people should know if they are friends, because there are a lot of people out there who didn’t know that and didn’t assume that.”
Thompson said he had researched Clark and Reese’s relationship before the tournament and found that both had spoken positively about each other in the past.
However, he pointed to Clark’s 2024 Time Athlete of the Year interview, in which she described their relationship differently.
“When I was researching the history between these two players ahead of the tournament, they had said a lot of nice things about each other over the years, as most athletes do,” Thompson said. “A lot of athletes, whenever you ask them about another athlete – especially an opponent or a teammate – they’re only going to say nice things about them.”
“But going back to the 2024 Time Magazine article, when Caitlin Clark won Athlete of the Year, she said, ‘We’re not best friends, but we respect each other,’ which is why I was curious now whether they were friends. There had not been – unless I’m missing something – any statements from either of them clarifying that they were friends up until my question to her.”
“And I thought it was important that people did know if they were friends,” Thompson added. “There is a lot of stuff out there, a lot of agendas and a lot of discussion on both sides. Fans of both players create arguments using them, and it affects them, even though they have no power over that. So that’s why I asked. I thought it was important that people know.”
What happened after the World Cup final
The exchange came shortly after the United States defeated France 97-79 in Berlin to win its fifth consecutive Women’s World Cup title.
Thompson asked Clark whether she and Reese were “friends now.” Clark immediately pushed back on the premise of the question.
“We’ve always been friends. Don’t try to do that,” Clark responded before walking away.
She came back later and allegedly said, “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Clark finished the final with 12 points and three assists in 13 minutes, shooting 4-of-5 from the field and 2-of-3 from three. Reese recorded three points, three rebounds, one steal, and one block in nine minutes.
The two had been seen sitting together on the bench and sharing several light moments during the tournament.
Clark and Reese’s relationship has been closely followed since the 2023 NCAA championship game between Iowa and LSU.
USA vs. France final highlights:
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