Liberty stars blast WNBA for not condemning racism sooner

The WNBA is at a golden moment.

Unfortunately, many players fail because they are too busy enjoying the moment.

WNBA players are increasingly the targets of racist bile, online hate, and even death threats, much of the speech coming from Indiana fans who support Caitlin Clark. It is reported that there is.

During the Fever's season-ending press conference on Friday, the league's Rookie of the Year came forward and condemned the actions of online trolls.

“It's definitely upsetting. No one in our league should face racism of any kind, including hurtful, disrespectful and hateful comments and threats,” Clark said. . “That's not a fan, that's a troll. This is truly a disgrace to our league, our organization, and the people of the WNBA.”

Clark's popularity and rivalry with fellow rookie Angel Reese has been a boon for the WNBA.

And the league had a historic season with record-breaking television viewership in the playoffs.

Unfortunately, that may have led to them inadvertently turning a blind eye to ugly behavior.

When asked about the increasingly racist rhetoric earlier this month, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the Clark-Reese rivalry was “just part of that Bird magic moment.” “One thing I know about sports is that you need rivalries,” he said. That's what makes people pay attention. ”

The problem is that too many players stopped watching and started crossing the line, sending hate messages and death threats online. Sun players Alyssa Thomas and DeJonai Carrington have been accused of abusive behavior. The latter posted an email containing a racial slur on his Instagram. and threats of sexual assault.

The WNBA finally issued a belated statement.

Liberty stars Brianna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu condemned the act, but also questioned why it took the league so long to acknowledge it.

“It's a tough situation as I've seen DeJonai get a lot of criticism, and I feel for her because she's been out and she's been playing games every night,” Stewart said. Ta. “If it escalates into hate or death threats, there is security that can investigate it. … There is no room for that in this sport, and really in any sport, because at some point we… Because we're talking about people's lives here. …So, Cathy, the league, the PA, all the players, the message is that that's unacceptable and we don't want those types of fans in our league. It is necessary to make sure that this is communicated.”

Ionescu, who has steadfastly avoided such topics, agreed.

“The league should have taken a stand long before something like this happened, and as fans we shouldn't have waited for such a deep discussion about what is and isn't acceptable in our league. I should have taken a stance,” Ionescu said. “And obviously there should be a zero-tolerance policy for what's been going on, racist remarks, things that are happening, and coming into the playoffs on this platform to talk about it. There shouldn't be a need.

“That's something the commissioner should have mentioned from the beginning, and he should have done it every time it happened. As the league grows, so does the fan base in a safe space, worrying about what's going on on the internet.” I hope that appropriate measures will be taken in the future because I want the players to feel like they can come to work without any kind of harassment. We need to end discrimination.”