WNBA: Misogynoir shouldn’t be the price paid for growth of league

In 2010, Dr. Moya Bailey coined the term “misogynoir” to capture how anti-Black racism and misogyny are very much intertwined. In other words, it is a term that describes hatred for Black women and other women of color.

During this monumental WNBA season, which saw record viewership and attention, there simultaneously was a rapid spike in acts of misogynoir towards a league were Black women are the majority. At every turn, Black players—from Chennedy Carter and Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky to the Connecticut Sun’s DiJonai Carrington to legends like Sheryl Swoopes—were subjected to online harassment from blatant racists disguising themselves as “fans.” Some went as far as to send out death threats.

Through no fault of her own, the Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark has been caught in the lurch of such social illness. If Black players fouled her or allegedly said something negative about her, they felt the wrath of unmitigated “trolls.” To them, she is the “white savior” who exudes the standard of heteronormative femininity they deemed acceptable and worthy of protection.

After Carrington poked Clark in the eye during Game 1 of the first-round series between the Sun and Fever, some took to social media to claim that Carrington’s long fingernails were the culprit, along with saying she should have been suspended. During Game 2 at Mohegan Sun Arena, longtime journalist Frankie de la Cretaz shared a picture of a “fan” wearing a shirt reading “BAN NAILS,” while also wearing long fingernails to mock Carrington. De la Cretz also shared that they heard a fan make fun of Carrington’s eyelashes.

This is a classic case of misogynoir, pathologizing Black femininity and saying Black women are less than human.

After the Sun swept the Fever, Alyssa Thomas shared her experience of being harassed online before and during the series. “I’ve never been called the things that I’ve been called on social media and there’s no place for it,” Thomas said in a postgame news conference.

Clark also condemned these actions. During the Fever’s season-ending press conference, she made her feelings abundantly clear. “Nobody in our league should be facing any sort of racism, (or) hurtful, disrespectful, hateful comments and threats,” Clark said. “Those aren’t fans, those are trolls, and it’s a real disservice to the people in our league.”

The WNBA also put out an official statement condemning the racist actions:

The WNBA is a competitive league with some of the most elite athletes in the world. While we welcome a growing fan base, the WNBA will not tolerate racist, derogatory, or threatening comments made about players, teams and anyone affiliated with the league. League security is actively monitoring threat-related activity and will work directly with teams and arenas to take appropriate measures, to include involving law enforcement as necessary.

Their statement was criticized by players such as the Phoenix Mercury’s Brittney Griner, who said it was “overdue” considering these incidents were taking place all season long.

At a time when the explosion in popularity of women’s basketball should be celebrated, it has been hampered by something as old as time: the vicious disrespect for Black women, who are largely responsible for the success of this league since its inception in 1997.

The league itself, which is objectively the most progressive professional sports league in the United States, should have gotten ahead of this before it got out of control. The league needs to own up to this problem and live by the words they wrote in their statement. They deserve the increased fanbase, but it is not wise to follow the Michael Jordan ethos of “Republicans buy sneakers, too” when misogynoir is pervasive. The players deserve better, especially when they have worked so hard to get this league to this place. Subjection to unchecked bigotry shouldn’t be one of the costs that comes with such popularity.

It is one thing to try to cast a wide net, but it is another when the net is filled with sharks.