WNBA calls out racism after Fever-Sun series: ‘We don’t want fans that are going to degrade us’

Uncasville, Connecticut — Connecticut Sun on Indiana Fever WNBA During the playoffs, players and coaches spoke out about the racism and harassment they said they faced throughout the first-round series.

“I don't think I've ever received any racist comments from Indiana Fever fans in my 11-year career, and honestly, it's unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” Alyssa Thomas said. “We've always conducted ourselves in a professional manner, and I've never had anything said to me on social media that was said to me and it will not be tolerated.”

Thomas noted how difficult it has become to spot hateful comments online and called for someone to step in, whether it be the Fever players themselves or the league as a whole.

“Basketball is going in a great direction, but we don't want fans to be putting us down or making racist comments,” Thomas said. “We already know what's going on in the world and we have to deal with that aspect. We come to work to play basketball and it's fun, but we don't want to go to work every day and have social media go off about stuff like that. It's unfair and they need to check on the fans or check on the league or do something about it. We just don't have time for this anymore.”

During the post-game press conference, the WNBA released an official statement, saying the league “does not tolerate racist, derogatory or threatening remarks toward players, teams or league personnel. League security actively monitors for threatening-related activity and will work directly with teams and arenas to take appropriate action, including law enforcement involvement as necessary.”

The comments came just weeks after Cathy Engelbert chose not to condemn the same hate when asked about it on CNBC. WNBA players and the players' union condemned Engelbert's decision, and she later apologized in a Twitter/X post, saying “there is absolutely no tolerance for hate or racism of any kind in the WNBA or anywhere else.”

Suns head coach Stephanie White called on the media to be more ignorant of the vandals.

“I think what frustrates me the most is that we in the media have to try harder to not allow social media trolls to make the news. I say we because I used to work in television,” White said. “I feel like we've allowed social media trolls to shape the news story. That's not acceptable. We have to try harder.”

White did not specify which specific media reports he was referring to since Game 1, but Key discussion points The question is whether Carrington's poke to Clarke's eye was intentional, and both players Shut downStill, it's hard to ignore the fact that when you search Carrington's name, stories about the incident come up higher than her on-court performance or Most Valuable Player awards.

“I realized that everyone's job is at the mercy of what gets read, what gets clicked on, what gets viewed,” White said, “but I feel like we have a responsibility to be better about making sure that what we represent — and I don't want to say protection, because these women don't need protection — but that the story is about our activism, and not about who's being attacked and how they're being attacked, but about us making it newsworthy.”

Fever coach Christy Sides also addressed the intense online criticism her players have faced this season.

“I'm proud of the adversity our players have gone through, the extraordinary expectations we had to start this season, what people thought we should be doing and the outside noise our players have had to endure from Game 1 until now,” Sides said. “There's a lot of hurtful, hateful rhetoric out there, and it's unacceptable. It's unacceptable for any of our players. This is basketball, this is their job, and they're doing their best. When it becomes personal, to me, it's just… I mean, there's no reason. And our players have to listen and watch social media. Social media is their heart and that's what they do.”

Syed gave the example of a claim online that she had previously received a technical for saying “F you” to an umpire, which she claims is false.

“This is a new world we're in now and it's unacceptable that players have to deal with personal issues,” Said said. “So they overcame that and continued to show up in our locker room and continue to find ways to improve and we started 1-8 and then we made the playoffs and that's a great story to tell.”

White ended his remarks by urging the media not to believe online rumors at the expense of the players.

“I commend our team for remaining professional. Not just our team, but a lot of teams in this league as well. A lot of athletes, not just in our league, are being attacked like this. So I commend them for their professionalism. We continue to encourage them to silence the noise and control what they can control. I'm not on social media for that. It's to protect my peace of mind, but I also recognize that it's a privilege for me.”

“I want everyone to take a step back and think about their son or their daughter or their niece or their nephew or their child. Because if my child was being harassed like this, I don't know what I would do. I don't know what I would do. We have to take the main thing as the main thing. I'm not talking about criticism. That's natural. That's reality. That's part of it. I get that. But the narrative doesn't need to be controlled by people who just want to pound on their keyboards and spew hateful, spiteful words all over the place.”

She said the intense criticism players have faced this season reflects a broader national trend.

“We've seen a lot of racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia in our country,” White said, “and sports is no exception. And quite frankly, this is unacceptable.”