Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Commissioner Engelbert passed up on the opportunity to denounce racism and bigotry when asked about it in an interview on Monday evening.
WNBA players around the league, including Breanna Stewart, Kelsey Plum, and Chelsea Gray, swiftly criticized comments made by commissioner Cathy Engelbert on Monday. When asked about how the rise of social media has taken “a more menacing turn, where race has been introduced into the conversation, where sexuality is sometimes introduced into the conversation”, Engelbert opted not to denounce the racism and bigotry. player have faced.
Instead, she celebrated the financial benefits that have accompanied the league’s growth, and in particular, the rivalry between Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark.
“But the one thing I know about sports, you need rivalry,” Englebert said in the CNBC interview. “That’s what makes people watch. They want to watch games of consequence between rivals. They don’t want everybody being nice to one another.”
The Women’s National Basketball Players Association, led by executive director Terri Jackson, released a statement a few hours after the Commissioner’s comments surfaced online.
“Here is the answer that the Commissioner should have provided to the very clear question regarding the racism, misogyny, and harassment experienced by the Players,” the statement read. “There is absolutely no place in sport — or in life — for the vile hate, racist language, homophobic comments, and the misogynistic attacks our players are facing on social media.”
Players around the league also criticized the Engelbert’s statement throughout the day, with Aces players speaking with ESPN’s Alexa Philippou and Katie Barnes at practice in Indianapolis Tuesday.
“I just think it’s doing a disservice to the majority of this league in not talking about the part that it’s consumed and played by Black women,” said Aces point guard Chelsea Gray. “And to basically be like, ‘Yep, we push it under the carpet that racism is OK.’ So not being direct and handling that, I think she did a poor job of doing that.”
Teammate Alysha Clark, who is a Vice President of the WNBPA, echoed that sentiment.
“It’s taken a darker turn in terms of the types of comments and the vitriol that’s coming through to the players, and it’s not OK,” Clark said. “I wish [Engelbert] would have just said that — ‘It’s not OK.’”
Kelsey Plum, the union’s First Vice President, agreed: “It’s pretty clear, there’s a difference between rivalries and racism. Big difference.”
After the Liberty’s win over the Wings, Breanna Stewart similarly rebuked Engelbert’s comments at length.
“I think that it’s disappointing to hear, because the way that the fans have surged, especially behind Caitlin and Angel coming to this league, but also bringing, like, a race aspect, to a different level,” Stewart said.
“And you know, there’s no place for that in our sport. I think that’s really what it is. We want our sport to be inclusive for race, for gender, and really be a place where people can be themselves. So we wish, obviously, Cathy would have used her platform in a different way and have made that a little bit better, just telling the fans enough is enough.”
Late Tuesday night, Engelbert put out a short statement of her own on Twitter/X, simply stating: “To be clear, there is absolutely no place for hate or racism of any kind in the WNBA or anywhere else.”
During a recent media interview, I was asked about the dark side of social media and online conversation about WNBA rivalries and race. To be clear, there is absolutely no place for hate or racism of any kind in the WNBA or anywhere else.
— Cathy Engelbert (@CathyEngelbert) September 11, 2024
Whether more discourse — or action — will follow remains to be seen, but for now, it’s clear that WNBA players feel the increased racism, misogyny, and harassment they have faced this season needs to come to an end.
