Earlier this week, NBA reporter Ric Bucher pointed to the lack of diversity on WNBA studio shows, which are staffed predominantly by Black women.Bucher suggested networks like ESPN and NBC add a male voice to the conversation.Hill responded to Bucher's post by citing what she called the "latest stats.""— 83 percent of sports editors are white men — 75 percent of assistant sports editors are white men — 82 percent of columnists are white men — 67 percent of sports anchors are white men — 68 percent of sports analysts are white men — 65 percent of sports producers are white men.C’mon, Ric.
This is deeply unserious."JOSH PATE WAS EVICTED WHILE EARNING $27K.NOW, HE RUNS A COLLEGE FOOTBALL MEDIA EMPIREAs OutKick argued on Monday, Bucher is correct that mainstream WNBA programming lacks diversity.
However, it's the lack of diversity in worldview that is consequential.WNBA programming doesn't necessarily need someone of a particular gender or race to improve the discourse.It needs someone willing to represent the other side of the conversation, someone to challenge claims that Caitlin Clark is overrated, that "white privilege" is rampant, that Black women in the WNBA are victims, that Sophie Cunningham is a culture warrior and that trans women are women.The public doesn't care whether that counterargument comes from a man or a woman, or a Black or white commentator.
It just wants someone willing to challenge the groupthink.That said, it wasn't Bucher's argument that was "unserious." It was Hill's rebuttal.Jemele Hill speaks on stage during the 56th NAACP Image Awards Hosts Hollywood House Symposium at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, Calif., on Feb.19, 2025.
(Monica Schipper/Getty Images)Her statistics appear to trace back to a 2018 study called the "Associated Press Sports Editors Racial and Gender Report Card," published by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport.Using that study to characterize who holds the most influential jobs in spo...