It’s not a secret that Dawn Staley pours her heart out for her players. The South Carolina coach made special efforts to save three of her former players who were stuck in a warzone. “She’s playful with them, she’s hugging them, she’s there for them. I think they sense the fairness. I think they sense the genuineness of her,” associate coach Lisa Boyer said. Now, the Gamecocks’ coach has spoken out again after a reporter involved one of her former players in his “biased” reporting.

Brutal roster cuts are expected approaching the season but no Golden State Valkyries fan expected this. Fan favorite Kate Martin was waived ahead of the 2026 season start and all hell broke loose online. 

“Kate Martin is the final cut from the Valkyries,” analyzed Bay Area CBS Reporter Matt Lively.  “They opt to keep Kaitlyn Chen and Laeticia Amihere over Martin. The move makes sense in terms of need but Martin is an incredibly popular player with a fan base that shows up in every city.” However, Staley did not see it that way as she called out the reporter for this tweet. 

“Not cool to actually use other players’ names, specifically Laeticia Amihere for your personal preface,” Staley wrote. “I hope if you cover the Valkyries, you can unbiasedly do so moving forward.”

Amihere played for the Gamecocks for four years before being drafted in 2023. But, there is an argument favoring Lively here. Martin, being Caitlin Clark’s former teammate at Iowa, was immensely popular among fans. Not only that, she was an important contributor in their playoff run last year, averaging 6.2 points,2.7 rebounds and an assist. 

Amihere was instrumental as well. She averaged 5.4 points and 4.3 rebounds. The real differentiating factor came via roster need. French center Iliana Rupert is pregnant and will be out for the majority of the season. That meant Amihere became even more important in the front court. Chen was already a vital part of the team as the only backup to Veronica Burton. 

In addition, Martin was on an unprotected contract and suffered a quad strain in training camp that could keep her out for some time. So, the Valkyries’ choice to keep Amihere and Chen makes more sense. 

What Staley seems to be alluding to is Lively’s framing that Amihere and Chen were the reason for Martin to be waived. When, in fact, there were many others. And considering Martin’s fanbase, she could fear some backlash falling on Amihere. However, reporters opined that Staley’s tweet was unnecessary in this situation. 

WNBA Reporters Fire Back At Dawn Staley As Natalie Nakase Speaks Out On Kate Martin Decision

Reporters have been at the end of intense criticism in the last couple of years, coinciding with the boom of women’s basketball. Like Matt Lively, they have been criticized

 of being biased, especially in the Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese debate. Others have been accused of being “fans who are journalists.”  However, Lively has gained some support among his industry mates, as many have called out Dawn Staley for her defensive and unprovoked reply. 

“WNBA players shouldn’t be treated with kid gloves,” Ryan Galssspiegel of FOS wrote. “There’s nothing wrong with a reporter specifying that there were three players for two spots. (H/T @Valkyries_Muse)”

From their perspective, what Lively wrote was just straightforward facts. The narrative around the Valkyries before this news has been a competition between Martin, Chen and Amihere for one roster spot. 

And eventually it was Martin who was waived due to changing circumstances. “All respect to the Dawn, but personally I think this is uncalled for,” wrote Nathan Cavallio, a Golden State Valkyries reporter. “@mattblively is one of the best in the biz and he was simply pointing out the roster crunch.”

The WNBA roster decisions are not some that are new to Staley or to the fans. Before this season, the situation was much worse with teams having only 11 spots. So, difficult choices

Are inevitable. There is a thin line between toxic and competitive. 

“A lot of heartache,” Natalie Nakase said regarding Kate Martin. “Kate was our family member and someone we cared about deeply. And we still do care deeply about Kate… It’s very hard because we are trying to construct the best team.” 

Martin can still get the final developmental spot for the Valkyries. Even if she doesn’t return via Golden State’s developmental spot, Martin’s versatility and popularity should make her a strong candidate elsewhere in the league.