Inside Hoops- Negative Comments About the WNBA Miss The Mark

The last week or so, I have become a combination of puzzled, annoyed, and amused by comments of people on social media about the WNBA. Some of it is posts put up on Twitter and Facebook, but most of it is comments people attach to posts. 

“I don’t think I will watch anymore WNBA, I am tired of all the petty stuff.”

This comment was a reaction to the Caitlin Clark hard foul on Angel Reese, the ensuing on court shoving and the later off-court heated discussions by the media. The WNBA and the media would like Clark vs Reese to be an issue- to be something to sell tickets and bring eyes to TV. The reaction to this was media generated. When Haliburton took a hard foul on Anonoube in a similar fashion, there was no media explosion. 

Did people quit watching the NBA after Isaiah Thomas got the other players in the NBA All-Star game to freeze out Michael Jordan? Many pro athletes are successful because they are driven with big egos.

Despite the media attempts, the Reese vs Clark rivalry is either dead or on its last breath. Angel Reese is not on nor will ever be on Clark’s level as a basketball player. The WNBA will eventually use Clark vs Buecker or Clark vs JuJu Watkins just as the NBA used Bird vs Magic. 

“Poor Caitlin, she shouldn’t have to go thru what she is going thru.”

Caitlin Clark is not the first emerging star to have to deal with testing by the veterans in a league. It is a tradition among pro athletes. 

Lew Alcindor as a rookie was brutally and physically attacked by Willis Reed and Wilt Chamberlain. In the eyes of the veterans, Lew was not on their level and they resented the publicity that he had gotten. Sydney Crosby in hockey, Odell Beckham Jr in football and Kobe Bryant in basketball all went thru this “veteran hazing.”

Sometimes it even happens within a team. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were so tired of hearing Jerry Krause talk about Toni Kukoc that in an Olympic game, they brutally and ruthlessly tried to embarrass Kukok, and did. 

If opposing players cross the line, the refs need to deal with it. Caitlin is getting the defensive attention because she is great.

“There are too many players that I can’t root for because of their political and social stands.”

If we are sports fans, all of us pick out “our teams.” Once we pick out a team, it takes a lot for us to quit rooting for that team. If we are a strong fan, we are very invested and we have a lot of passion for our team. Often to justify our passion and our loyalty, we find moral reasons to support our team. Our team is the good guys and the other team is the bad guys. 

Cub fans showed disdain for the Cardinals because Tony LaRussa got a DUI. The White Sox fans who can’t root for the Cubs because their owner has given millions of dollars to Donald Trump. The person who rooted against Ali because he “dodged the draft.” The fan who can’t root for the Warriors and Steve Kerr because he is too liberal. All of us try to find moral reasons why our teams are the best. The reality is, if we are looking for a team with unflawed individuals, we probably need to look at chess as a sport to follow.

“I just want to watch basketball, I can’t stand all the hate and booing in the WNBA.”

When I was going thru some sports pages from the 1930’s, I ran into an account where the referee in a high school basketball game stopped the game because the fans were making noise when the opposing team shot free throws. He warned the fans they would all be kicked out if this continued. Needless to say, the idea of not making noise when the opposing team is shooting free throws, is an idea whose ship has sailed. 

Booing an opposing player is not something unique to the WNBA. Who did the Minnesota T-Wolves fans boo whenever he touched the ball? SGA is booed with every touch. Opposing fans don’t pick out the 10th player on the other team to go after this way. In a weird way, it is acknowledging greatness.

If you want to get an angry fan reaction, just post a message on social media either saying LBJ is the GOAT or that Michael is the GOAT. Few fans can remain neutral and unemotional on this topic.

Part of athletics and part of competition is that is hard not to just root FOR your team without rooting AGAINST the opposing team. I tell people that in the MLB I root for two teams- the White Sox and whoever the Cub’s are playing. During college basketball, I root for Wisconsin and whoever the Illini are playing. That goes back to abuse that I got from Illinois fans in JH and HS after an Illini win. 

It is easy to throw the word “hate” around in analyzing this. I don’t think that I hate the Cubs or Illinois. If I improve my vocabulary, I would be more accurate to say that I have disdain, contempt, or despise those teams. 

While sportsmanship purist would say it is wrong, the negative passions of the home team at games is part of sports. This is not unique to the WNBA.

“No need to watch the WNBA for the next couple weeks with Clark injured, it will be boring.”

This was a message to me from an Iowa fan. It is sad that they have followed the WNBA now for a full year and have not moved from just being a Caitlin Clark fan. And to be honest, such fans are part of why some WNBA fans resent Caitlin. The WNBA is boring without Clark sentiment fails to acknowledge all of extraordinary players and teams in the WNBA.

For me, I am excited to see how the “supporting cast” emerges over the next couple weeks. Will Mitchell, Cunningham, Hull, or Bonner emerge as much stronger than we realized? 

“Coach, you have never seen a group like these girls coming up.”

This was a comment that I heard multiple times as a high school coach. It might be a parent or a fan wanting me to know that a 4th or 5th grade group were really going to be good, or the 8th grade team that went 18-2 was going to be so good. 

Part of the problem with the message was that the person giving the message had never seen what Sarah Larson, Molly Watson, or Megan Pacheco had looked like as players as youngsters. Or they had never watched the Streaks play at State. 

I know I should not have felt this way but often I resented the message because I viewed the message as perhaps an insult to previous players. 

And that is the message all WNBA fans should reflect on. Michael Jordan may be the all-time GOAT in the NBA, but you still need to honor the achievements of Oscar Robertson, Kareem, Magic, and Larry. If Caitlin turns the ball over less and defends better, she may become the WNBA GOAT, but pause and reflect on how good Sue Bird, Ionescu, Stewart, Wilson, Catchings, and Parker are or were. They created the longest lasting women’s pro league in America. 

“The Fever added all this talent to go with Clark but they still have lost. Does this coach know what they are doing.”

Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart won their first WNBA title in year 3. Kobe Bryant and Diana Taurasi won their first title in year 4. A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, and Sabrina Ionescu won their first titles in year 5. LeBron James and Michael Jordan won their first titles in year 7. 

Most championship teams don’t just come out of nowhere and win a title. It usually takes a couple years of knocking on the door before they can win. How many times did the Bulls lose to the Pistons before they finally broke thru. 

The season is still young. Winning is not easy!!