Claressa Shields Says She Was Robbed Of BET Sportswoman Of Year Award

Boxer Claressa Shields is facing backlash after she claimed that she was snubbed at the 2025 BET Awards.

On Monday (June 9), WNBA star Angel Reese was named Sportswoman of the Year at the BET Awards, edging out other athletes in her category, including Shields, A'ja Wilson, Coco Gauff, Dawn Staley, Flau'jae Johnson, JuJu Watkins, Sha'Carri Richardson, and Simone Biles.

Reese, who took home the award for the second consecutive year, earned the WNBA's Defensive Player of the Year award during her rookie season after achieving the only 20-20 game in league history. The Chicago Sky forward nearly collected the most rebounds in a season before her wrist injury ended her rookie campaign early.

Despite Reese's achievements, Shields, who won the WBA heavyweight title in February, believes she should've taken home the trophy for Sportswoman of the Year.

"Still don’t know how I didn’t win the Sportswoman of the Year for the @BETAwards but Congrats to Angel Reese and all the other Nominees🤷🏽‍♀️ I just thought accolades mattered," Shields tweeted.

Shields' comment garnered swift backlash from social media users, but the boxer continued to double down on her sentiment.

"You [got a lot] ms shields, but Reese has accolades too," one X user responded, to which Shields replied, "Yes she does but who has more accolades…. More success in their field. Please use google before responding."

"Girl don’t get on here complaining. You’re talented, don’t let that get overshadowed because you appear to come not as a sore loser. Just delete the tweet say congratulations and keep it moving," another user said.

"Sore loser….. naw you hate the facts," Shields responded.

The heavyweight champion maintained that she was happy for Reese, but still believed she was robbed of 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. I’m team Angel Reese!" Shields said.

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