WNBA players have expressed disappointment with league commissioner Cathy Engelbert following her recent remarks on social media attacks targeting players, in which she dogged the question by highlighting the benefits of the ‘rivalry’ between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
During an appearance on CNBC’s “Power Lunch,” Engelbert was asked about how the league handles the “darker” side of social media, including racism and harassment. However, she didn’t answer the question directly, but she shifted the focus to the benefits of Clark-Reese rivalry. “It is a little of that Bird-Magic moment, if you recall from 1979, when those two rookies came in from a big college rivalry, one white, one black. So we have that moment with these two,” she said.
Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington didn’t mince words following Engelbert’s comments. “There was a silver platter to just address it,” Carrington said after her team’s win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday. “You can’t control what people are going to say or do on social media, but you can use your platform to say, ‘This is not behavior we endorse as a league.'”
Carrington added that with a league predominantly composed of Black athletes, it was “eye-opening” that Engelbert sidestepped the chance to address the racist attacks that players have faced throughout the season.
Las Vegas Aces star Chelsea Gray echoed those sentiments, telling ESPN, “I think it’s doing a disservice to the majority of this league by not acknowledging that racism is a real issue. To just push it under the carpet and say that it’s part of a rivalry is not OK.”
DiJonai Carrington #21 of the Connecticut Sun drives the ball down the court (Angelina Katsanis/Getty Images)
Liberty star Breanna Stewart also weighed in, describing Engelbert’s response as “disappointing” and expressing a desire for the commissioner to use her platform to firmly declare that “enough is enough” when it comes to harmful rhetoric.
Clark also responded to Engelbert’s comments
Meanwhile, according to the New York Post, Clark also responded to Engelbert comments saying that it was a missed opportunity to have a firm stance against this issue. “I think there was an opportunity for her to really be able to take hold of what’s been going on and let people know that regardless of the amount of dollars that are coming in, regardless of whatever, racism and misogyny and homophobia, they have no place in our league, and they have no place regardless of how popular our sport is,” she said.
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“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. I wish [Engelbert] would have just said that — ‘It’s not OK.’”
The WNBAPA released a statement
The criticism didn’t stop there. The WNBA Players Association (WNBPA) released a statement through its executive director Terri Jackson, denouncing racism, misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia.
The WNPBA has released a statement on the comments of WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert ⬇️
Hours after the backlash, Engelbert posted a statement on social media, reaffirming the league’s stance against racism. “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,” Engelbert wrote on Tuesday.
