The WNBPA slammed WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s recent comments about the rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
Engelbert appeared on CNBC’s Power Lunch on Monday, where she was asked about how the league tries to stay ahead of and lessen the “darker” and “very uncharitable things” fans have said about the two rookies in regards to race and sexuality.
“It is a little of that [Larry] Bird–Magic [Johnson] moment, if you recall, from 1979, when those two rookies came in from a big college rivalry, one white, one Black. And so we have that moment with these two. But the one thing I know about sports, you need rivalry. That’s what makes people watch. They want to watch games of consequence between rivals. They don’t want everybody being nice to one another,” Engelbert said.
Engelbert conceded fan input was different when Bird and Johnson played because social media didn’t exist then. But her advice to players was to disregard the noise: “If someone’s typing something and you wouldn’t ask their advice, ignore it,” she said.
As Clark and Reese have garnered more national attention, fans have spewed vitriol on social media, oftentimes explicitly racist comments; Reese, who plays for the Chicago Sky, has even received death threats. Reese recently said on her podcast that she respects Clark and how much her fans support the Indiana Fever star, but she’s been followed, had people show up at her home, and had AI photos made of her without clothes on.
Both the union and players have heavily criticized Engelbert’s response. WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson posted a statement Tuesday night laying out the answer she said Engelbert should have given on CNBC.
“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.
Jackson said she appreciates the growing interest in the league and what Clark’s and Reese’s fans have contributed to that. “But let’s be clear: fandom should lift up the game, not tear down the very people who bring it to life. Racism, and the toll it takes on everyone, is NEVER tolerable, let alone justifiable, in the name of economic growth.”
Several players have also come out against Engelbert’s comments, including Chelsea Gray, Alysha Clark, Kelsey Plum, and Breanna Stewart. Clark said she wished Engelbert would have said “it’s not O.K.,” while Plum noted there is a “big difference” between rivalries and racism.
“The way that the fans have surged, and especially behind Caitlin and Angel coming to this league, but also bringing a race aspect to a different level—you know, there’s no place for that in our sport. We want our sport to be inclusive for race, gender, and really a place where people can be themselves,” Stewart, the vice president of the players’ association, said after her game Tuesday. “So we wished, obviously, Cathy would use her platform in a different way and have made that a little bit better. Kind of just telling the fans like, enough is enough.”
Engelbert took to social media Tuesday night, almost three hours after the WNBPA’s statement was posted, to address the backlash: “During a recent media interview, I was asked about the dark side of social media and online conversation about WNBA rivalries and race. To be clear, there is absolutely no place for hate or racism of any kind in the WNBA or anywhere else,” the commissioner said.
Clark has spoken out against the racism some of her fans have displayed. “People should not be using my name to push those agendas. It’s disappointing. It’s not acceptable,” she said in June.
