The WNBA has wrapped up its most notable season since its inception, breaking multiple viewership records while increasing attendance across the league.
The rookie season of Caitlin Clark saw ticket prices skyrocket wherever she played, with games even having to change locations to accommodate the fans who wanted to see her.
‘I’m speaking on a particular group that is motivated by hate and destruction.’
But with more eyeballs came far more scrutiny of — and pressure on — the players. Not only did many players buckle under their newfound fame but so did owners and reporters.
What resulted from this historic season wasn’t a showering of praise on the league’s new fans or an increased appreciation for the sport but rather a historic series of blunders.
5. WNBA owner calls Clark fans ‘racist’
Typically, sports franchise owners want to pull fans into arenas, not alienate them. That note seemingly didn’t make its way to the desk of Renee Montgomery, former WNBA star and part owner of the Atlanta Dream.
Not only did Montgomery claim there was a prevalence of “bots” and “faux fans” within Clark’s massive online following, but also the owner doubted that the new star’s fans even watched her games.
“I’m speaking on a particular group that is motivated by hate and destruction,” Montgomery said in a clip she posted to X.
“I like when our fans are so engaged and so passionate that they just don’t like the other team. But being racist, sexist, and violent with your words — come on now, what are we doing? … That’s not acceptable,” she added.
For some reason, the owner even brought Boston Celtics fans into the mix and accused them of “racist treatment of players.”
The Dream finished 15-25 and were swept in the playoffs. Karma?
4. Reporter says a single MAGA hat made a WNBA game ‘unsafe’
It wasn’t enough in the 2024 season simply not to be a fan of Clark. Any connection to conservative politics that possibly could have been made was made — and then connected to some form of hatred.
Take WNBA writer Frankie de la Cretaz. The “they/them” journalist attended Game 2 of the playoff series between Clark’s Indiana Fever and the Connecticut Sun.
De la Cretaz’s reporting included citing the game’s “vibe” as “horrendous” while also claiming she and her “partner” told off a “racist” fan sitting behind them. The fan’s crime was daring to mock one of the Sun players for wearing fake eyelashes on the court.
The writer was even more outraged by “a man in a MAGA hat” and a woman wearing a “ban nails” shirt. The fan also sported props of giant fingernails on her hands.
When all was said and done, de la Cretaz said she’d be writing a scathing review about her horrible experience before adding, “I’ve never felt unsafe at a WNBA game & tonight I did.”
3. Players complain their private planes are too small
After Clark was photographed on a luxury private flight — likely due to her being responsible for the massive attention the league was getting — players began demanding similar amenities.
Did they take their issues to WNBA brass and ownership? Of course not. Instead they took to their social media pages and press interviews.
Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese was the first to complain, posting a photo of herself seemingly embarrassed to be on a commercial flight.
On her Instagram story, Reese showed herself in sunglasses and a paper mask with the caption: “Just praying that this is one of the last commercial flights the Chicago Sky has to fly.” A second caption read, “Practicing gratitude & patience as the league introduces charter flights for all teams.”
Phoenix Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham went about her request far more arrogantly, saying, “Butterflies and rainbows now that we got the charters” before adding that the private planes weren’t big enough.
“We are so grateful to be able to start chartering, but with that, there’s a lot of things that need to be adjusted,” she said during an interview. “Our bags and some of our people can’t fly with us because our charter is too small. While other teams get big planes.”
Cunningham seems to be unaware that while the league is losing a reported $50 million in 2024, its private plane program is responsible for half that debt at $25 million.
2. A’ja Wilson claims black players don’t get endorsements — and is immediately proven wrong
In what may have been a cruel joke by a reporter, Las Vegas Aces player A’ja Wilson made wild, racially charged accusations, only to be immediately proven wrong.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Wilson claimed that race has played a “huge” role in Clark’s popularity while adding that black women aren’t seen as marketable and, despite what they may accomplish, are still ignored.
“It doesn’t matter what we all do as black women; we’re still going to be swept underneath the rug,” Wilson argued.
To the surprise of very few, Wilson’s claims were completely destroyed before they were even published.
A week before the interview went public, Wilson signed a deal with Gatorade. Then, on May 11, Wilson and Nike announced that she would be endorsed and given her own signature shoe.
On May 12, Wilson’s interview with the Associated Press was published, leaving egg all over her face.
Wilson called it a “dream” of hers to be able to work with such an iconic brand as Nike, but she failed to mention anything about being unmarketable due to her race.
1. Cameron Brink accidentally calls her teammates ugly
The most jaw-dropping quote of the season came from the right place — that is, if you believe woke culture and social justice are forces for good.
When Cameron Brink gave an interview about “tired narratives,” she focused on the idea of breaking stereotypes and tropes. However, the 22-year-old actually just ended up calling her teammates ugly and manly.
‘Some of my teammates go by they/them pronouns.’
In an attempt to spew woke dogma, Brink initially went with race as a factor in popularity: “I will acknowledge there’s a privilege for the younger white players of the league. That’s not always true, but there is a privilege that we have inherently, and the privilege of appearing feminine.”
After stating there is pressure for women to appear womanly, Brink attempted to explain why her more “masculine” teammates should be more popular despite their looks.
“Some of my teammates are more masculine. Some of my teammates go by they/them pronouns,” she said. “I want to bring more acceptance to that and not just have people support us because of the way that we look. I know I can feed into that because I like to dress femininely, but that’s just me. I want everyone to be accepted — not just paid attention to because of how they look.”
Brink has since continued to dress like a woman.
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