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Anti-trans “activist” Riley Gaines and the Fox-owned sports news outlet OutKick claim they are being unfairly targeted by the WNBA.
Gaines and OutKick insist they were denied press credentials for two recent Atlanta Dream games and allege that the WNBA is trying to suppress their reporting.
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Gaines, who never became a professional swimmer after leaving college, rose to fame among Republicans after publicly targeting trans former NCAA swimmer Lia Thomas and now has an OutKick podcast where she frequently talks about trans athletes in women’s sports.
Recently, she has been laser-focused on the WNBA’s Brittney Griner, claiming that the Atlanta Dream star center called Indiana Fever point guard Caitlin Clark “trash” and a “f*cking white girl” based on Gaines’ lip-reading from footage of the game where Griner’s statements couldn’t be heard. Gaines also implied that Griner didn’t deserve to be rescued from a Russian prison back in 2022, Them reported.
It’s this allegation that Gaines says the WNBA is trying to cover up by keeping her from attending games as press. In an Instagram post over the weekend, Gaines claimed that the WNBA was “self-imploding” and was attempting to “suppress any uncomfortable inquiries.”
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Sports writer Jemele Hill disputed Gaines’ version of the game, writing on X that Clark wasn’t even part of the play Griner was seemingly frustrated by, and that she was actually talking about the referee and said “trash” and “f*cking wack call.”
“I get that your whole personality is caught up in stuff like this, so you don’t care about spreading misinformation,” she wrote.
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Gaines and OutKick, which is owned by the Fox Corporation that also owns Fox News, claim that the WNBA is targeting them because they are the only ones reporting on the supposed things Griner said about Clark.
The meritless claims about Griner made by Gaines and OutKick have fueled the flames of hate that Black players like Griner and Angel Reese have experienced from right-wing commentators, social media, and even WNBA fans who have been heard making racist comments at a game.
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OutKick attempted to gain press credentials for the Dream’s game against the Los Angeles Sparks on May 27 and a second game against the Connecticut Sun. The outlet told Fox News that they were denied access in an email from the Sun, where they were told, “Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate your request for a media credential for Connecticut Sun vs. Atlanta Dream on Friday, June 6. Due to very limited space, priority is given to those that are associated with outlets that have consistently covered the organization for previous seasons.”
Gaines has turned her ultra-conservative views into a career, becoming a paid “culture war” speaker. According to GLAAD, Gaines’ anti-trans hate is well-documented. She has declared a “Real Women’s Day” holiday, was part of a lawsuit to challenge trans eligibility in college sports, launched the Project BOYcott campaign to “celebrate” female athletes who refuse to compete against trans women and girls, and travels nationwide speaking at panels advocating against trans people.
She is also currently embroiled in a controversy with Simon Biles, after Biles defended trans athletes in the face of Gaines’ misgendering and criticizing a trans high school athlete.
