{"id":19868,"date":"2025-07-18T21:03:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T21:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/19868\/"},"modified":"2025-07-18T21:03:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T21:03:09","slug":"an-open-letter-to-scoop-jackson-and-everyone-saying-the-wnba-wasnt-ready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/19868\/","title":{"rendered":"An open letter to Scoop Jackson and everyone saying the WNBA wasn\u2019t ready"},"content":{"rendered":"

INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 Dear Scoop<\/a>,<\/p>\n

I read your article in the paper, \u201cThe WNBA wasn\u2019t ready for the downpour of drama<\/a>,\u201d and left a little confused.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll admit the Bone Thugs-N-Harmony reference went over my head. I didn\u2019t quite catch your overall point, either.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s clear you want to talk about the W! That\u2019s great. You\u2019ve even taken a few laps around Twitter, documenting the hot topics and trends.<\/p>\n

Maybe you\u2019re even curious to hear from a WNBA<\/a> beat reporter \u2014 someone who\u2019s at All-Star weekend right now and covers the league every day.<\/p>\n

I can confirm: There\u2019s a lot going on this season. Some players are complaining about the refs<\/a> and\/or stuck in shooting slumps. Many are fighting for better pay<\/a>. One particular Fever player has lamented that the WNBA is expanding to cities she, personally, would not have picked.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s almost as if the WNBA has turned into … a regular American pro sports league?<\/p>\n

Has it figured out how to stop the toxic, racist, and sexist commentary online?<\/p>\n

Nope.<\/p>\n

Has any other league?<\/p>\n

Also nope.<\/p>\n

But look, Scoop \u2014 I\u2019ll concede the broader point.<\/p>\n

In some ways, the league wasn\u2019t ready for an explosion of popularity. And really, how could it have been? When you\u2019re told over and over that you\u2019re not worth the investment, at some point, you start to believe it.<\/p>\n

Cheryl Reeve, who\u2019s coaching Team Collier this weekend, put it like this:<\/p>\n

\u201cOur franchises that are affiliated with NBA teams \u2014 there\u2019s been this long undertone that yeah, the WNBA is nice and everything, but it\u2019ll never become mainstream. I was told that 10 years ago. I think that sort of undertone put us in a position that maybe when it was time to capitalize, we missed on some things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Missed some things, definitely. Still missing some things.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m often sitting in the Sky<\/a> media room, about to interview one of the most famous athletes in America, eating pizza off a napkin \u2014 because apparently the organization that employs her still can\u2019t afford to give us plates.<\/p>\n

Legacies of underinvestment don\u2019t disappear overnight.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not like the league is sitting around. They got private jets. Expanded into new cities. Flipped this growth era into more than $1 billion in expansion fees and a $2.2 billion media rights deal.<\/p>\n

And still, there\u2019s this whole cottage industry of observers insisting the W wasn\u2019t ready \u2014 and is now on the verge of collapse if the ladies don\u2019t start hitting their threes.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a double standard running through all this. Another dark undertone.<\/p>\n

Back then, it was: The W will never be mainstream.<\/p>\n

Now? It\u2019s: Maybe it got there, but it won\u2019t last.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the shift. From \u201cthey\u2019ll never make it\u201d to \u201cthey\u2019re bound to blow it.\u201d<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the thing about undertones: they say more about the people whispering them than the ones being whispered about.<\/p>\n

So, next time you stop by on your discourse tourism, I just have one little request.<\/p>\n

Instead of just listing off what players and fans are saying, how about just asking yourself how this all makes you feel?<\/p>\n

Like really, on a deeper level: How does the WNBA\u2019s ascent make you feel?<\/p>\n

That part, the outsiders never seem ready to talk about.<\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n

A WNBA Beat Reporter<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"AT&T<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

After missing the Sky\u2019s last regular-season game with a leg injury, she practiced with Team Collier on Friday morning.<\/p>\n

[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
\n \u00a0\n <\/p>\n

read<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Caitlin<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Clark won\u2019t play in the All-Star Game and has been battling injury all season. But even without her, the WNBA is drawing more viewers than the NHL.<\/p>\n

[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
\n \u00a0\n <\/p>\n

read<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Atlanta<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Without their top playmakers, the Sky fell 86-49 to the Dream in a mid-morning game that was over by halftime.<\/p>\n

[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
\n \u00a0\n <\/p>\n

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