Hilton Grand Vacations has fired an employee for allegedly sending a racial slur to WNBA star Chelsea Gray.
On Monday, the Las Vegas Aces guard posted a screenshot on her Instagram Story of a user calling her a racial slur via Instagram DMs following the team’s loss Sunday to the Indiana Fever.
“People act like we make this shit up,” Gray wrote. “And the audacity to tell us as athletes to ‘shut up and dribble.’”
Gray’s post included the user’s handle (@atxschreibzz). Social media users soon identified the user as an employee of Hilton Grand Vacations through their now-deleted LinkedIn profile.
In a statement to Front Office Sports on Tuesday afternoon, Hilton Grand Vacations said the person is no longer with the company.
“The person responsible for posting this information is no longer with the company. His behavior was in violation of multiple company policies and does not reflect our company’s values in any way.”
Hilton Grand Vacations is an independent timeshare company that was spun off from the Hilton Worldwide hotel group in 2017. Earlier Tuesday, it told FOS that it was “investigating” the employee.
A league source said that the WNBA is aware of the message sent to Gray. The league has also been in touch with Aces security.
The Aces said in a statement Wednesday that the team “unequivocally condemns” the racist abuse that and that “we stand with organizations, like Hilton Grand Vacations, that hold individuals accountable for racist conduct.”
The incident comes just weeks after Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas said she received threats after an on-court incident with Fever guard Caitlin Clark. Thomas retroactively received a Flagrant 2 and a one-game suspension for what the league deemed a “non-basketball act” when she struck Clark’s throat.
The abuse towards Gray—like much fan misconduct—appears to be related to sports betting. The user wrote “sports betting” on the bio of their now-deactivated Instagram, according to screenshots.
WNBA players have faced significant online abuse, much of it racist and misogynist and not all of it obviously connected to gambling.. But betting has become a primary culprit for fan abuse in recent years, as it has across all sports.
In May, Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier warned of potential consequences from sports betting losses.
“It worries you, though, at some point, something bad is going to happen because some person has lost. $30,000 because you didn’t hit a three pointer or something,” Collier told CNBC.
The WNBA has created several initiatives to combat hate, claiming it has enhanced security measures and launched a No Space For Hate campaign last year.
Thomas said late last month that the league needs to do more: “At some point, the league needs to put a stand on it. They came out with ‘No Hate Speech,’ but what is that going to do.”
Engelbert has been criticized in the past for brushing off the abuse facing the players.
In 2024, when she was asked about the noise surrounding the rivalry of Clark and Angel Reese, Engelbert compared it to the NBA rivalry between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson that grew the sport.
She then advised players to disregard the noise: “If someone’s typing something and you wouldn’t ask their advice, ignore it.”
WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson called out Engelbert following those comments.
“There is absolutely no place in sport—or in life—for the vile hate, racist language, homophobic comments, and the misogynistic attacks our players are facing on social media. This is not about rivalries or iconic personalities fueling a business model. This kind of toxic fandom should never be tolerated or left unchecked. It demands immediate action, and frankly, should have been addressed long ago,” Jackson wrote.
