A Women's National Basketball Association star and coach called for an end to the "unacceptable" homophobic and racist attacks leveled at WNBA players by the Indiana Fever fanbase.
Alyssa Thomas, the WNBA forward for the Connecticut Sun, and Sun head coach Stephanie White commented after their team finished a sweep of the Indiana Fever from Wednesday night's opening round of playoffs.
Thomas called out the Fever fanbase's racism in a press conference, telling reporters:
“I think that in my 11-year career I never experienced the racial comments like from the Indiana Fever fan base."
“It’s unacceptable and honestly there’s no place for it. We’ve been professional throughout the whole entire thing, but I’ve never been called the things that I’ve been called on social media, and there’s no place for it.”
The Sun star player, who is also a Team USA gold medalist at the 2022 FIBA World Cup and the 2024 Summer Olympics, noted that Basketball was "headed in a great direction," adding:
“But we don’t want fans that are going to degrade us and call us racial things."
You can watch a clip here.
White, a former WNBA player who previously coached the Vanderbilt Commodores from 2016 to 2021 and the Indiana Fever for the 2015 and 2016 seasons, defended Thomas and the team.
Said White:
“We’ve seen a lot of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia throughout the course of our country."
“Sport is no exception, and it’s unacceptable to be quite honest."
She continued:
“It’s a lot of teams in our league and a lot of athletes, not just in our league that get attacked like this."
"We continue to encourage them to silence the noise, control what they can control.”
Here's a video of White's statements.
Christie Sides, the WNBA head coach for the Indiana Fever, also joined the conversation and said that her players have been targeted on social media as well.
“It’s a lot of hurtful, hateful speech out there that’s happening, and it’s unacceptable,” said Sides.
She continued:
“This is basketball, and this is their job, and they’re doing the best they can. And when it gets personal to me, there’s no reason for it. These guys have to listen and watch—social media is their life."
"That’s just what they do. And they have to read and see these things constantly, and just all the stories that are made up of what people see or think they see. It is just not acceptable when it gets personal.”
You can watch the clip featuring Sides here.
The WNBA defended its players in a statement after Thomas and White's comments.
It read:
“The WNBA is a competitive league with some of the most elite athletes in the world."
"While we welcome a growing fan base, the WNBA will not tolerate racist, derogatory, or threatening comments made about players, teams and anyone affiliated with the league.”
@WNBA/X
They added:
"League security is actively monitoring threat-related activity and will work directly with teams and arenas to take appropriate measures, to include involving law enforcements, as necessary."
@elleuk/Instagram
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