WNBA Teams Continue Apparent Blackballing Of OutKick

Washington Mystics won’t even respond to OutKick’s request for media credentials

Add the Washington Mystics to the list of WNBA teams denying OutKick media credentials to attend a game in their home arena. OutKick reached out to the team – three times – to request a media credential for Sunday’s game between the Mystics and the Atlanta Dream. We did not receive any response. 

It’s now been nearly three weeks since Atlanta Dream forward Brittney Griner fouled out of a WNBA game against the Indiana Fever and then was seen on camera shouting something that has been interpreted multiple ways. Some people believe, based on reading her lips, that she said “f***ing white girl,” while others believe she said “f***ing whack call.” While no one is certain exactly what she said, it remains true that there’s an easy way to find out: ask Griner.

Of course, no media member has done that. Why would they? The WNBA “reporters” and “journalists” aren’t actually reporters and journalists. They operate as PR agents for the league, teams and players. But here at OutKick, we want to know what Griner said. And, we tried to ask her, to no avail. 

Her management team didn’t respond to any of our requests and the WNBA ignored our inquiries, as well. So, we attempted to do what no other “reporter” has dared to do: go to a WNBA game and ask Griner directly. 

Unfortunately, the league clearly doesn’t seem to want us there to ask real questions. OutKick requested a media credential for the Atlanta Dream game in Los Angeles against the Sparks on May 27. The Sparks denied our request. OutKick requested a media credential for the Atlanta Dream game in Connecticut against the Sun on Friday night. The Sun denied our request. 

READ: WNBA Refuses To Grant OutKick Media Credentials; What Is The League Hiding?

The latest piece of evidence that the league is conspiring to keep OutKick out of WNBA arenas comes courtesy of the Washington Mystics. The Mystics host Brittney Griner and the Atlanta Dream on Sunday afternoon. Despite multiple attempts to request a credential via email, we got nothing back. 

At least the Sun had the decency to lie and say they didn’t have enough space to accommodate one more media member for a regular season WNBA game. The Mystics couldn’t be bothered to even do that. OutKick never received any response at all. 

NBA grants OutKick media credentials while WNBA shuts us out 

The NBA, which owns over 40% of the WNBA, probably doesn’t like how OutKick consistently points out how bad the league’s ratings are. We are also hard on the league, quite often, for their radical left-wing politics that drive away many American sports fans. 

Yet, when OutKick requested a credential for the NBA Draft later this month, the league obliged. While the NBA certainly deserves its fair share of criticism, we commend it for allowing us access to one of their biggest events of the year. The NBA found room for OutKick at the Draft, but WNBA teams can’t find room at regular-season games? 

It seems unlikely that “limited space” is the culprit here. So, what is the real reason? Are the teams in the WNBA under instruction from the league to deny OutKick access to games? The league says it is not, according to a statement provided to OutKick by a spokesperson. 

“WNBA teams make independent decisions regarding who they credential to cover regular-season games. As a general matter, the WNBA league office approves credential requests from media for league events that comply with our timing, policies and procedures,” the statement said. 

Neither the Connecticut Sun nor Washington Mystics provided additional details as to why they denied our credential request. So, despite the league’s statement, evidence suggests the WNBA is blackballing OutKick from attending games. And that underscores exactly why no other WNBA “reporter” or “journalist” is willing to ask players difficult questions. They don’t want to be excluded from covering games. 

WNBA teams are sending a message, loud-and-clear. They are not interested in having honest media coverage. They want flowery PR puff pieces from the media – not real stories. But we’re not going to stop trying to ask questions and write real stories. Just because the rest of the media has sacrificed all of its journalistic ethics doesn’t mean we have to follow suit.