Dream Coach Facing Pushback After Angel Reese Incident
Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream dominated the Toronto Tempo on Sunday, 102-77. However, the Flagrant 2 foul on the two-time All-Star center grabbed a lot of headlines. Fans criticized her head coach, Karl Smesko, for his postgame comments about the incident.
Reporters asked the 55-year-old for his thoughts on Isabelle Harrison's hard foul on Reese. Smesko highlighted how Reese controlled her emotions.
"Definitely, it's one of those situations where she's going to be inside, she's going to be physical, and sometimes not getting the calls, you know, have to manage it," Smesko said, via reporter Wilton C. Jackson II.
"You can't control it, so you just gotta keep playing. I thought she [Reese] did that tonight, and I think that's a large reason why she had such a great second half of the game."
Fans criticized Smesko in the comments section.
"To be a coach on a championship team you need to say enough is enough . Even Stephany white says something. All coaches that want to win a chip will get on the refs asses about one of there star players getting hacked for a whole quarter. You don't even attempt to say anything," one fan said.
"So he's not gonna call them out??" a reaction read.
"Will Karl ever speak up? Physicality is apart of the league but a player got ejected and nothing ? His reaction in the moment was necessary but not even after the fact? Maybe behind close doors, it is different but gosh. Give us something like a backbone," one user wrote.
"Smesko doesn't care for Angel. this was a perfect game to call out the officiating but it won't happen as long as it's Reese," posted another.
"When is Karl going to stand up for his players?? The officiating against the Dream has been horrible all season. I'm sick of it," one fan commented.
"Dammit he better say SOMETHING...DAMN," a comment read.
Reese scored 15 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to support Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard's strong performances. The duo combined for 50 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, while Isobel Borlase added 17 points.
The Dream will return to action on Thursday to face Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever. Both teams are making their move for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, which could lead to another highly competitive matchup.
Related: Atlanta Dream's Angel Reese Makes Request After 12 Games
Copyright 2026 Athlon Sports. All rights reserved.
This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 5:01 AM.