For several years, prominent players and media figures have debated what WNBA commentary should look like as the league rises in prominence in the national sports conversation.
First it was the dynamic between Caitlin Clark and the league’s veterans, who sometimes bristled at her popularity in comparison to theirs. Angel Reese faced racially charged commentary and fabrications as she adjusted to the pros. Most recently, the Dallas Wings were forced to confront the scrutiny toward the romantic relationship between their two young stars.
In nearly every case, a strong contingent of commentators instinctively came to the defense of players. Many argued the Wings story was irrelevant and should be off limits for reporters. Earlier this week, several in women’s basketball media defended the league’s strict policy against media access to locker rooms postgame.
It was all enough for Jemele Hill, a longtime sports columnist and host, to call out a dynamic facing the WNBA in which its fans “expect the journalists to be cheerleaders.”
And as women’s basketball legends Sue Bird and Cheryl Miller have moved from being players to analysts at NBC, covering the league from a greater distance, they believe this evolution toward more critical commentary is natural.
The two sounded off about the state of WNBA discourse on a media conference call this week, ahead of NBC’s first WNBA broadcasts of the season on Sunday.
“I’m a big believer … just given my experience in the WNBA, that this is a league that is different from every other professional league that we’ve seen, and what’s never really worked for us is to try to be carbon copies of other leagues,” Bird said.
But, the Seattle Storm legend added, players are more than comfortable with criticism.
“I think all of the players, all of us throughout the course of the existence, have wanted more critique,” she said. “We understand that’s a part of sports. It’s a part of conversation. It’s what gets people excited.”
Miller agreed that WNBA players are right to advocate for themselves, but noted that with the reward of larger paychecks and more coverage comes “scrutiny.”
“It was a long time overdue for the women to stand up and take a stand and fight for what they did, and the reward is here. Now the scrutiny does begin,” she said. “Now that the money is there, now you gotta put up. You have to put up and show up and show out.”
Miller said she had not seen any examples of overly negative coverage so far on the league’s television broadcast through the first week of the season. But Bird believes that the upcoming year, the first of a new collective bargaining agreement and media rights deal, will see media and players find a middle ground.
“There’s going to be some growing pains with that, and I think we’re just in that place right now,” she said. “I actually think it’s what makes people like myself and Cheryl really special to this coverage, because we’ve lived it. We understand it. We can bring a different perspective to it, and I’m really proud in that way to be a part of it.”
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