RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesPre-game press conferences are usually a bit of a nothingburger in the WNBA.
Coaches will answer questions about their starting line-ups, address recent trends and it is all very smooth and easy.
However, when Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White arrived at the podium prior to her team's clash against the New York Liberty this week, the mood was different.
White didn't let the journalists ask questions first, as is usually the case in these settings. Her press conference began and ended with a passionate two-minute address.
"The hate, the fear-mongering, the divisiveness, the stuff that's trying to hijack our league will not win. It won't win. We are united. We are connected. We will not be divided," White said in part.
"Every day, these women put their ass on the line ... I stand by them. I will always stand by them. Everybody else can go to hell."
White's statement comes after another week where WNBA headlines have had very little to do with the on-court product.
It is sadly old news for a league that is undoubtedly growing but continues to be hijacked by different agendas, whether they be political, racial or financial.
Racial tensions in the WNBA were heightened earlier this week when Chicago Sky defender DiJonai Carrington tweeted "WHITE PRIVILEGE" and tagged the Fever account after being ejected from a game against the Fever due to a hard foul on Fever guard Sophie Cunningham.
Cunningham believed the foul was "absolutely" intentional, adding that Carrington probably had some "pent-up stuff".
White, Cunningham's coach on the Fever, did not think Carrington intended to hurt Cunningham, and was criticised by some for not supporting her players. It was a criticism that left the Fever coach seething.
Cunningham is the WNBA's latest main character, and it is hardly her first time in the limelight.
The 29-year-old isn't one of the WNBA's best players, but she is one of its most marketable.
A combination of a suite of endorsement deals, a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover, a guest UFC referee spot and an unofficial role as star teammate Caitlin Clark's bodyguard has all combined to net her 3.8 million Instagram followers.
For comparison, the WNBA's consensus best player and four-time league MVP A'ja Wilson has just 1.5 million followers.
Cunningham was the subject of an ESPN feature last month where she spoke out against the participation of transgender women in women's sports, saying "young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men".
When pressed about her comments a few days later, Cunningham did not back down, saying her stance is simply "common sense".
"I think I'll always believe in that," she said.
"I think it's really important to protect children, and that's little girls who are also involved in that category. I stand on what I said."
Cunningham has always presented her views on transgender athletes under the guise of protecting the sanctity of women's sport, and while she may be well-intentioned, the views are problematic in a league that prides itself on diversity and being a safe space for the trans community and other minorities.
Her comments were met with a wave of support for the transgender community from within the WNBA.
Cheryl Reeve, the head coach and president of the Minnesota Lynx, wore a T-shirt reading "Trans Kids Belong" when her team faced Cunningham's Fever.
"I come from a space of inclusion," she said.
"The narrative that I think is problematic is to suggest that transgender athletes are the biggest problem in women's sports."
The WNBA's Player's Association also denounced "hate abuse and demonisation of the transgender community" in a statement.
While Cunningham cares about the league and its future, her views opened the door to people outside the WNBA to gatecrash and use it as a vehicle to push their agendas,an all too familiar a tale for the league.
Unsurprisingly, US President Donald Trump and his vice-president JD Vance wasted little time jumping on the Cunningham train, with Vance labelling her "inspiring".
Riley Gaines, a vocal campaigner against the participation of transgender women in women's sports, also took a sudden interest in Cunningham and the WNBA.
Two former NBA players, Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, have taken the jig a step further by declaring their intentions to enter the 2027 WNBA draft, more as an attack on the league's current eligibility guidelines and gender inclusivity as a whole rather than a genuine attempt to commence women's basketball careers.
It is a shameless publicity stunt that will ultimately fail. Sadly, it is coming at the cost of both the transgender community and women's sport as a whole.
White has done multiple interviews in a long-haired wig since declaring his draft eligibility and has claimed he is in his "feminine era".
Like Gaines, neither Kanter nor White have previously displayed much public interest in the WNBA.
Perhaps realising the firestorm her comments caused, Cunningham took aim at media covering the WNBA, accusing reporters of covering "everything except basketball" in the days following her ESPN interview.
The irony of it is that Cunningham's comments regarding transgender women in the WNBA came despite there being no transgender players in the league currently, or none about to enter the draft.
She was the one who drove the conversation away from the league's on-court product.
There should be headlines about the 2027 draft class. USC's Juju Watkins is one of the most exciting draft prospects in WNBA history. Her teammate Jazzy Davidson is another star in the making and could also declare.
Instead, we're all here talking about Kanter, a player who spent 11 seasons in the NBA, and White, a former first-round NBA draft pick, threatening to finagle their way into the league while pretending to care about the women's game.
Clark's arrival in the WNBA as the top pick in 2024 supercharged the interest in the league.
While her sensational long-ra...
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