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Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink said she was revolted by the response she had seen online to a call by the team for male players to try out for the practice squad.
Last week the Sparks put out an invite on social media for male players to practice with their WNBA roster. Brink did not oppose playing against men in practice but was dismayed by the tone of many of the responses to the post, which featured her and teammates Dearica Hamby, Rickea Jackson and Kelsey Plum. Brink will model for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue in May.
“My confession is I’m really icked out by the potential new practice players,” Brink said on her Straight to Cam podcast. “Usually we use [University of Southern California] college guys that also [practice with] the women’s team at USC.”
Brink added that the responses to the Sparks’ social media post made he unsure about the type of people it had attracted.
“All the comments are like, ‘Let Cameron Brink back me down,’ or something about Rickea or something about Kelsey,” she said. “Who are we trusting coming into this gym?”
The Sparks did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is fairly common for top women’s teams to practice with male players.
Brink won an NCAA championship with Stanford before being selected by the Sparks with the second pick of the 2024 WNBA draft. The 6ft 4in defensive powerhouse said she would not give her full effort against male players who are selected in the tryouts.
“I’m not boxing anyone out,” she said. “Lynne [Roberts], our new coach, is going to be screaming at me for not rebounding but I’m not boxing out anyone.”
The Sparks take on expansion team the Golden State Valkyries in San Francisco when the 29th WNBA season tips off on 16 May.
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