WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s comments on the dark side of the rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese were met with a universal thud from the players and WNBA Player’s Association.
The condemnations come after Engelbert appeared on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” on Monday and sidestepped a question about the toxic nature between fan bases of Clark and Reese.
Engelbert replied to CNBC’s question about the “darker turn” that some of the fandom has taken on, but instead of addressing the topic, she gave a meandering answer about the new space the WNBA occupies at the “intersection of culture, and sports, and fashion, and music.”
“The WNBA players are really looked at now as kind of cultural icons,” Engelbert said. “And when you have that, you have a lot of attention on you. There’s no more apathy. Everybody cares. It is a little bit of that Bird-Magic 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.”
Players from Liberty star Breanna Stewart to Reese herself reacted to the comments, and WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson released a scathing statement criticizing the commissioner.
“To be honest, I saw the interview today, and since then have been in talks with Terri at the WNBPA. I think that it’s disappointing to hear,” Stewart told reporters on Tuesday night after New York’s win over the Dallas Wings. “Because the way that the fans have surged, especially behind Caitlin and Angel coming to this league, but also bringing, like, a race aspect, to a different level. There’s no place for that in our sport. I think that’s really what it is. We want our sport to be inclusive for race, for gender, and really be a place where people can be themselves.
“We wish Cathy would have used her platform in a different way and have made that a little bit better. Just telling the fans enough is enough. Become a fan of our sport, and for the new ones, lock in on everybody. But don’t be disrespectful, because as a league, we stick together, and there’s no place for that.”
The WNBA has had to contend with a massive growth in interest this season thanks to Clark and Reese’s arrival to professional women’s basketball, but with it has come a negative side to the attention.
Reese said on her podcast recently that fans of Clark had shown “racism” and said she’s had fans follow her home.
Jackson said in her statement that there was “absolutely no place in sport — or in life — for the vile hate, racist language, homophobic comments and misogynistic attacks” on the league’s players.
“This kind of toxic fandom should never be tolerated or left unchecked,” she said.
Reese seemed to react to the WNBPA statement in a post on X.
“I LOVE ME SOME MS. TERRI CARMICHAEL JACKSON. Momma @nnekaogwumike you’re on the clock sista!” Reese wrote.
Nneka Ogwumike, who plays for the Seattle Storm, is the WNBPA president.
Engelbert posted on X late on Thursday night to clarify her comments.
“During a recent media interview, I was asked about the dark side of social media and online conversation about WNBA rivalries and race,” she wrote. “To be clear, there is absolutely no place for hate or racism of any kind in the WNBA or anywhere else.”
