Instead of celebrating the quartet of first-round sweeps, where the likes of A’ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier, Sabrina Ionescu and Alyssa Thomas delivered some all-time performances for their victorious squads, attention wandered elsewhere in the world of women’s basketball this week.
Yes, it’d be nice to just focus on basketball, but, as many of the players who compose the WNBA carry multiple marginalized identities (woman, Black and queer), segments of society have a hard time reckoning with their presence and power, and therefore respond with a reactionary stew of racism, misogyny and homophobia. As Andraya Carter asserted about the WNBA on ESPN on Wednesday night:
It’s also a league that thrives on women that truly take pride in inclusivity, in diversity, and welcoming others and protecting marginalized groups. And so there’s no room for racism. There’s no room for bullying. There’s no room for derogatory comments.
As much as we want this league to grow, we will grow slower if it means leaving those fans out of the mix.
On to the details about the week’s news:
WNBPA calls out Christine Breannan
On Friday, WNBPA Executive Director Terri Jackson released a statement on behalf of the union’s 144 members that called out USA TODAY’s Christine Brennan, taking exception for the questions she posed to the Connecticut Sun’s DiJonai Carrington between Games 1 and 2 of the first-round series between the Sun and Indiana Fever. Brennan’s extended inquiry about an on-court play between Carrington and the Fever’s Caitlin Clark, when Carrington incidentally hit Clark near her eye, was, in the estimation of the WNBPA, “a blatant attempt to bait a professional athlete into participating in a narrative that is false and designed to fuel racist, homophobic, and misogynistic vitriol on social media.”
USA TODAY Sports Executive Editor Roxanna Scott issued a statement in response to the union requesting that the news organization “address what we believe is a violation of several core principles, including seeking and reporting the truth.”
More on the W’s reckoning
After the Sun completed their first-round sweep of the Fever, the racist harassment experienced by players in online spaces, which included a threatening message received by Carrington during the series, dominated the postgame commentary.
Those in attendance at Mohegan Sun Arena also expressed concerns about the in-game atmosphere, suggesting that the behaviors of…
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