All through 2026 – and actually, since Caitlin Clark entered the league and introduced unprecedented consideration along with her – critics, pundits, politicians, and activists have been doing every part they will to show the league right into a political battleground. From the nationwide anthem to former NBA gamers claiming to establish as girls, there has hardly ever been a scarcity of controversies for the league to reply to.
For probably the most half, although, the WNBA has chosen to not take the bait. As a substitute of addressing these “controversies,” the league has largely ignored them. And whereas that has annoyed the folks attempting to drum up outrage, the league’s refusal to provide “oxygen” to manufactured controversies has been precisely the appropriate method.
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Contents
‘Manufactured Outrage’
A lot of that outrage hasn’t been practically as natural because it appears. The talk over transgender athletes took over the dialog across the WNBA this summer season after Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham advised ESPN that she wished “to guard younger women in a locker room, or younger women in sport who should not must go towards organic males.”
That is even supposing the WNBA has by no means had a transgender lady within the league. And a brand new report has discovered that the discourse was largely pushed by a small variety of viral posts.
The information analytics firm GUDEA analyzed 188,631 posts concerning the matter from July 20 to Aug. 12, and practically 99% of them have been on X. Solely a handful of these posts ever even received greater than 3,000 reposts.
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“If you happen to take out the eight high posts, this [narrative] did not occur. No one could be speaking about this,” GUDEA founder Keith Presley advised CT Jones of Rolling Stone.
GUDEA’s Georgia Paul argued that the dialog was dominated by influencers and pundits trying to revenue off of engagement.
“You are going to earn cash in these divisive methods since you’re tugging at real-world conversations. Anger has become {dollars} for different folks. The purpose is to sow division,” Paul stated.
Silence on the Nationwide Anthem
The nationwide anthem is the most recent instance. Each the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries left the court docket shortly earlier than the nationwide anthem forward of Recreation 1 on Saturday, then jogged again onto the ground seconds after it ended.
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OutKick shortly pointed to a provision within the WNBA’s rulebook calling for gamers, coaches, and trainers to “stand and line up in a dignified posture” through the anthem. However the rule solely applies to gamers who’re truly on the court docket, and leaving the ground earlier than tipoff is not precisely unusual in basketball.
Nonetheless, OutKick’s Dan Zaksheske reached out to the league and each groups on Saturday and once more on Sunday. And he wrote that he raised his hand at a number of press conferences, however was by no means known as on to ask about it.
“If Saturday’s absences have been merely a part of the groups’ pregame routines, each have had a chance to clarify that,” Zaksheske wrote in a follow-up article.
The league remained silent. After which each groups did it once more earlier than Recreation 2 on Monday, leaving the ground lower than a minute earlier than the anthem and returning seconds after it ended, in response to OutKick.
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As soon as once more, there was no response from the WNBA. Evidently, the league has determined that this is not a battle value having.
‘Publicity Stunts’
The WNBA took an analogous method when Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White introduced their plans to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft, claiming that they establish as girls.
Kanter Freedom made it clear that the objective was to strain the league into barring transgender girls. However moderately than interact with what was broadly seen as a publicity stunt, the WNBA largely ignored it.
The league’s solely actual response for months got here from an nameless supply. In August, a league supply advised Entrance Workplace Sports activities that the declarations from the 2 males have been “merely publicity stunts.”
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The supply stated that the league is “not going to provide oxygen to efforts designed to mock the league or use this matter to demean and marginalize others,” by way of Entrance Workplace Sports activities.
The supply added that the league “won’t permit exterior strain or manufactured controversy to dictate league processes.”
That did not cease Kanter Freedom from attempting. He was faraway from a Chicago Sky recreation in August after a verbal altercation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud, and he introduced one other stunt forward of the Finals. Kanter, specifically, has frequently tried to insert himself into the dialog, even demanding a “peace summit” with the league, however he is been largely ignored.
The WNBA lastly addressed the difficulty instantly final week, however solely after Congress got here calling. Even then, the response was moderately dismissive because the league basically denied there was any actual controversy.
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A gaggle of Home Republicans led by Rep. Marlin Stutzman despatched the league a letter asking the way it defines “girls” and why Kanter Freedom and White had been deemed ineligible. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s response was about so simple as it will get.
“With respect to your questions concerning eligibility, solely girls are eligible to play within the WNBA and the people you cite in your letter are each males,” Engelbert wrote, by way of OutKick.
That was it. Engelbert did not announce a brand new eligibility rule, a broader coverage on transgender athletes, or the definition of “girls” that the lawmakers had requested for. She simply acknowledged the plain and moved on.
After all, it did not finish the outrage. Kanter Freedom went on social media to ask whether or not the WNBA is “transphobic,” and Stutzman made it clear that he nonetheless needs solutions concerning the nationwide anthem.
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‘We Will Not Be Used as Political Pawns’
The gamers have taken an analogous stance. After Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham’s feedback about transgender athletes turned a nationwide story this summer season, the WNBA Gamers Affiliation launched an announcement making it clear that it would not be dragged into the political battle.
“Hate, abuse, and demonization of any particular person or group of individuals, together with transgender folks, solely gasoline worry, division, and hurt. We’ll proceed to have laborious conversations. However we won’t be used as political pawns,” the assertion learn, by way of ESPN.
That is the appropriate manner to take a look at it. The folks demanding solutions from the WNBA concerning the anthem or about Kanter Freedom aren’t in search of a dialog. They’re in search of a response that they will flip into the subsequent spherical of concern, and, because the GUDEA report confirmed, into {dollars}.
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Each response from the league simply provides them extra materials. Clearly, the WNBA has found out that one of the simplest ways to deal with a manufactured controversy is to let it fizzle out by itself and hold the concentrate on the basketball.
And with the Dream and Valkyries tied 1-1 after Atlanta’s first Finals win in franchise historical past, there’s loads of basketball value specializing in.
The put up The WNBA has found out one of the simplest ways to deal with manufactured outrage: ignore it appeared first on The Comeback: Immediately’s Prime Sports activities Tales & Reactions.
