Well, some members of the WNBA media do.Just not until they’ve decided which players are allowed to speak and which answers are acceptable.WNBA media and ESPN want to 'stick to basketball' after years of celebrating progressive activism, social justice and politics as central to the league's identity.
(Getty Images)The contradiction was on full display Tuesday night in Seattle, where Storm center Stefanie Dolson arrived for a game against the Indiana Fever wearing a shirt that read, "Trans rights are human rights."Nobody needed help connecting those dots.Dolson wore the shirt one week after Fever guard Sophie Cunningham publicly opposed allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports.SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM RALLY ROCKS WNBA GAME AS 'SAVE WOMEN'S SPORTS' ACTIVISTS FACE COUNTERPROTESTThe Storm then promoted Dolson’s shirt on its official social media accounts, adding three speaking-head emojis to make sure no one missed the message.After the game, a credentialed member of the WNBA media attempted to question Fever coach Stephanie White about a pregame demonstration outside the arena supporting Cunningham’s position.Except the "reporter" didn’t frame it as a demonstration supporting women’s sports.
She called it an "anti-trans rally" and said Cunningham’s comments had "ignited right-wing and anti-trans supporters."That’s not how you phrase a question when you’re genuinely interested in hearing the answer.It’s a political statement with a question mark tacked onto the end.That’s not journalism.
It’s activism with a credential.An Indiana Fever public relations representative eventually interrupted, explained that neither Cunningham nor the organization had anything to do with the demonstration and said the team was focused on winning basketball games."Any more basketball questions?" the spokesperson asked.In that particular moment, it was a fair response.My colleague Jackson Thompson has the full story on what happened in Seattle.But Tuesday ...