Breaking News: Angel Reese stuns fans by taking a new “job” on the eve of the WNBA Draft

Fairly or unfairly, for better or for worse, the public perception of Angel Reese is that she is a bit of a troublemaker. Ever since she exploded onto the national scene in 2023 by leading the LSU Tigers to a surprise national championship, Reese has become controversial for her attitude and her off-court exploits, and many fans felt a sort of vindication when LSU fell to Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes in the Elite Eight of this season’s NCAA Tournament.

But the public persona that Reese has — at times grudgingly — embraced represents only a small sliver of who the power forward is as a person. As she proved by returning to “work” at a popular fried chicken chain, Reese is a woman of the people — and she could prove immensely popular when she takes the floor in the WNBA later this year

Reese recently served up smiles, selfies, and chicken fingers on her New York City adventure when she took orders at a local Raising Cane’s restaurant. Motivated by a desire to “pay it forward,” Reese said that her goal was to help young women realize that they can be a star just like her — after they chow down on some chicken, of course.

“Being able to come to places like Cane’s, giving young girls the look that they can do these things, I want them to have a face and understand they can have these same opportunities that I have,” Reese explained in a minute-long video posted to social media.

Reese has previously worked a lunch shift at Raising Cane’s, which is headquarted in Baton Rouge — the same city that houses Louisiana State University. She credited Raising Cane’s founder Todd Graves for this initiative, making her visible to more of the public and continuing to capitalize on this moment for women’s basketball.

“Todd Graves has been amazing,” Reese said. “He loves women’s sports, he comes out and sits courtside at (LSU) games and supports us. I want to be a great player, but I always want to leave my impact, and I think I’ve done that.”