WNBA star Angel Reese is looking to turn a pejorative into profit. After earning her first career triple-double on Sunday, ornery viewers accused her of playing a selfish brand of basketball. So she countered by filing a trademark for “Mebounds.”
The term was first used on social media to make fun of Reese. Skeptics said the WNBA’s leader in rebounds inflated her stats for the Chicago Sky by attacking the paint after her own missed shots.
“Whoever came up with mebounds, y’all ate that up,” Reese said in a recent TikTok video. “Because anything that comes off that board, it’s mine. And a brand? That’s six figures right there.”
Reese’s trademark application would allow her to use the term on T-shirts, sweatshirts and hats. The LSU product has long said she embraces her role as a villain in women’s basketball.
Reese has been depicted as a “bad girl” alternative to the wholesome brand cultivated by Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark.
While Clark is splashing deep 3-pointers, Reese is battling for rebounds.
The Baltimore native doesn’t draw the same crowds as Clark, but Reese attracts more attention — and criticism — than almost every other player in the league. She doesn’t mind it.
“The trolling, I love when y’all do it because, like, the ideas be good,” Reese said. “Like, when y’all have to alter my face and s— because I’m cute, alright, whatever. That doesn’t get me.”
• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.
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