The game between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky on Sunday became controversial after a heated exchange between Enes Kanter Freedom and Natasha Cloud, which ultimately led to Freedom’s ejection. This continues the transgender saga in the WNBA, which began with Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham’s comments in an ESPN interview. Brazilian-American WBB reporter Roberta has connected the Freedom-Cloud controversy to an underlying issue – the Indiana Fever.
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“I’m so f****** frustrated. It’s ALWAYS a game of this team [Indiana Fever]. It’s always a supporter or someone who was drawn by a player of this team. We’re not dumb and we can’t be gaslit. It’s not only online trolls, and y’all do know about all of that. Being silent is being complacent.”
The reporter pointed out on her X feed how most of the controversial incidents in the league can be traced back to the Indiana Fever. A prime example of this is the ongoing transgender debate in the league that stemmed from Fever player Sophie Cunningham’s comments on a July 21 report via ESPN. This has now snowballed into a league-wide issue about the eligibility criteria of the W, leading to even former male NBA players declaring for the WNBA draft.
Roberta then replied to her own post with another important point.
“And I will say more because today I am PISSED. The moment there was absolute silence about the hate Angel Reese was receiving, all of this was legitimized…” she said in an X post on August 23.
“The WNBA was completely unable to handle its enhanced visibility and downplayed the effects of its silence. Certain things need to be addressed directly, named properly, or they will become whatever people want,” she added.
Roberta’s mainstay is the issue of Angel Reese. Reese and Caitlin Clark’s rivalry has been a defining one for the WNBA in recent years. But while the rivalry has brought the league greater visibility, the treatment that Reese has been subjected to has been a talking point in the W for some time now.
During a game in July this season, a hot mic captured Toronto Tempo coach Sandy Brondello mentioning Angel Reese as a “protected species.” The comment was deemed inappropriate by the WNBA, and Brondello was later suspended for a game.
Even during last season’s opening game against the Indiana Fever, Reese found herself at the receiving end of hateful comments by some fans sitting courtside. The post-game rhetoric also turned into online hate and abuse toward Reese.
While Reese has reportedly been a target of online hate, Roberta alleges that it has been the league’s inability to deal with this newfound visibility and popularity that has been a critical factor in why this has remained unaddressed so far. The WNBA aimed to address the larger issue of racism in the league through its “No Space for Hate” campaign, which focused on combating prejudice and hate directed towards players in the arenas and online. But Roberta seems unconvinced.
Now, as Enes Kanter Freedom and Natasha Cloud got into a heated argument, with Kanter apparently wearing a shirt mentioning the definition of the word “woman” on it, the focus has once again shifted to Sophie Cunningham’s comments and the narrative that has gripped the league since then.
So the league, Indiana Fever, and all the stakeholders involved have their task cut out for them to address these issues in time to come. For now, the transgender debate shows no signs of settling down.