Several weeks ago, I blogged about the officiating in the WNBA and how that might be a real detriment to the success of the league. Now, I'm not so sure.
Paige Bueckers was crowned as the No. 1 choice in the 2025 WNBA Draft. She is now endearing herself to the WNBA community in the worse way possible.
John Simmons of OutKick shares a little of his reasoning on the subject. "Bueckers has kept busy in the time leading up to her first rookie season, making several media appearances and doing interviews with large publications, one of which was TIME magazine. Heck I didn't even know TIME was still in production! In the interview, she apologized for something that doesn't exist and something that she doesn't have, white privilege. Evidently, she believes that such privilege has been a massive contributor to her rise to stardom, and that Black players still don't get enough coverage".
"There's white privilege every single day that I see", she continued when asked about her own success. "I feel like I've worked extremely hard, blessed by God, but do I think there's more opportunities for me? I feel like even just marketability, people tend to favor white people, white males, white woman. I think it should be equal opportunity, I feel like there is privilege to what I have and to what all white people have. I recognized that, I want to counteract that with the way I go about my business".
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| A No. 1 pick with a lot to learn |
Simmons continues, "this is a tired and old narrative, and so it the assumption that white athletes-Bueckers or anyone else -are famous because of their skin color. If it feels like we've heard this from a WNBA player before, it's because we have. This league and some of the media that cover it, have an incredible way of shaming white players for their success. They did it to Caitlin Clark in her rookie season".
Let's look at the NBA for a minute. The top white players in the league are Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Chet Holmgren, Tyler Herro and Domantas Sabonis. The first two are at the head of the class. They've been successful, Jokic more so that Doncic, but still, they are making millions of dollars. They are popular and they share the spotlight in the league with the likes of LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and the like. There is no infighting. No black versus white issue.
Back to the WNBA. Its black women headed by Aja Wilson, Angel Reese, Alyssa Thomas and Dijonai Carrington who not only want their "piece", but they are also actually willing to let a product be taken down to prove their point. In fact, this attitude is really becoming a joke.
The upcoming season in the WNBA could be one of the more exciting in league history. There are any numbers of teams that could win the Championship. It will be interesting to see the over-hatred of white players when Clark rolls out her wingers for this year, Lexie Hull and Sophie Cunningham. Both white, blonde dead eyes. But then what? Before next season there will be one ugly contract negotiation. The salary cap is projected to be $1,552,300 with a team minimum of $1,299,240. Think the players are going to want their "piece"? And that doesn't include a $2.2 billion media rights deal to begin in 2026.
2025 will be a season to watch in the WNBA. I don't see smooth sailing on the horizon beyond that. And for that matter, I don't see Paige Bueckers making the big imprint Clark did last year. She's not the offensive threat that Clark is. And I have questions on how she'll handle the physical play in the league. Caitlin was a generational player and a generational marketer. That's why the league is where it us today.
If players, black and white would realize what's at stake, there could be a real giant in the offing. There needs to be some black leadership who brings the two factions together. At present, I don't see anyone matching that description.
I have my doubts on the future of the WNBA, and that's not even thinking about the officiating any more.....
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