Who could have predicted that an arena in which ten women compete with each other for dominance, attention, and popularity would be overshadowed by conspicuous interpersonal drama?
Conventional wisdom has it that the constant melodrama in the WNBA began with the rising popularity and cultural prominence of Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark (a white woman) who has recently been on the receiving end of hard fouls by players such as Phoenix Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas — a black woman who recently grabbed Clark’s neck—a dangerous foul for which she received a one-game suspension.
Chicago Sky’s DiJonai Carrington and Angel Reese are suspected in some circles of harboring not only envy, but also racial resentment and animus against Clark because she is a white girl who frequently outplays black girls .
Black players and their supporters counter that they are frequently subjected to racist fan comments, death threats, and online harassment that target players like Thomas (who claims she was threatened after she grabbed Clark by the neck).
Investigations into alleged racial remarks by Fever fans toward Angel Reese in 2025 found them unsubstantiated.
DiJonai Carrington recently threw a hard and flagrant foul on Fever teammate Sophie Cunningham, grabbing her around the neck and slamming her to the ground as she went for a shot.
Following her ejection for this dangerous act of aggression, Carrington posted on social media that her penalty was the result of “WHITE PRIVILEGE.”
Coach Sandy Brondello was then suspended for calling Angel Reese a “protected species” (an Australian sports idiom she said was misinterpreted in the U.S. context). Media pundits like Jemele Hill claim that race and sexuality play roles in Clark’s marketability compared to established black players. Clark herself has mostly avoided rising to the bait of racial talk, focusing on play and condemning hate.
Transgender eligibility has become another cause for drama, despite few (if any) currently active transgender players significantly affecting competition.
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has stated that she wants to “protect young girls in a locker room” and that they “shouldn’t have to go against biological men,” describing her stance as “common sense.”
She later clarified she does not hate the transgender community. “Inclusion advocates” such as veteran Brianna Turner proclaim that “fear-mongering” targets a tiny minority and that the “real issues” (sexism, racism, and harassment) deserve more attention.
The WNBA has issued a statement “embracing diversity and inclusion” while rejecting “hate, abuse, and demonization” of transgender people and insisting the union “will not be used as political pawns.” Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton was suspended after confronting teenage fans supporting Cunningham’s views.
Recently former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White fanned the flames of the transgender controversy by declaring for the WNBA draft, claiming they now identify as transgender. Here is the 6’8” White stating his conviction that as one who identifies as a transgender woman, he will be unstoppable in the women’s league.
And so we see how the irrational obsessions with “racism” and “transgender” have become a recombinant mind virus that has infected the WNBA.
If you would like to learn about the origin and emergence of these mind viruses in the American public forum over the last twenty-five years, check out my new book, Mind Viruses: America’s Irrational Obsessions.
IPAK-EDU is grateful to FOCAL POINTS (Courageous Discourse™) as this piece was originally published there and is included in this news feed with mutual agreement. Read More
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