{"id":9031,"date":"2024-09-29T15:31:56","date_gmt":"2024-09-29T15:31:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=9031"},"modified":"2024-09-29T15:31:56","modified_gmt":"2024-09-29T15:31:56","slug":"you-have-seen-hate-filled-and-racist-speech-skyrocket-wnba-players-are-fed-up-with-hateful-caitlin-clark-fans-social-media-attacks-and-wants-the-league-to-stop-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=9031","title":{"rendered":"\u2018You Have Seen Hate-Filled and Racist Speech Skyrocket\u2019: WNBA Players Are Fed Up With Hateful Caitlin Clark Fans\u2019 Social Media Attacks and Wants The League To Stop It"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u2018You Have Seen Hate-Filled and Racist Speech Skyrocket\u2019: WNBA Players Are Fed Up With Hateful Caitlin Clark Fans\u2019 Social Media Attacks and Wants The League To Stop It<\/p>\n

The\u00a0WNBA\u00a0released a statement condemning the allegations of racism and other hateful messages players have received over the course of a season that has changed the face of the WNBA forever.<\/p>\n

\"WNBA<\/p>\n

After sweeping\u00a0Caitlin Clark\u00a0and her Indiana Fever out of the playoffs, Connecticut Sun star\u00a0Alyssa Thomas\u00a0dished the blame on Fever fans, who have gained a reputation for crossing the line when it comes to their support and defense of CC.<\/p>\n

Following the team\u2019s win, Thomas\u2019 teammate\u00a0DiJonai Carrington\u00a0\u2014 a known archnemesis of Clark \u2014 revealed on Instagram a despicable, racially-charged email she had received.<\/p>\n

Thomas spoke about the challenging experience she had this season, dealing with social media villains, after the Sun\u2019s win.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been professional throughout the whole entire thing, but I\u2019ve never been called the things that I\u2019ve been calling on social media, and there\u2019s no place for it,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cBasketball is headed in a great direction, but no, we don\u2019t want fans that are going to degrade us and call us racial names.\u201d<\/p>\n

DiJonai Carrington Has Been Target Of Racial Attacks By Clark Fans<\/p>\n

Thomas isn\u2019t making this up, and TSL has reported on several instances where Carrington, especially was the target of racial slurs and attacks based upon her contentious on-court relationship with Clark.<\/p>\n

There was the\u00a0George Floyd\u00a0troll post.<\/p>\n

The 2024 WNBA Most Improved Player award winner has also been told to \u201cgo back to Africa\u201d this season by trolling Fever fans.<\/p>\n

Thomas continued: \u201cWe already see what\u2019s happening in the world and what we have to deal with in that aspect. We come to play basketball for our job, and it\u2019s fun, but we don\u2019t want to go to work every day and have social media blown up over things like that. It\u2019s uncalled for, and something needs to be done, whether it\u2019s (the Fever) checking their fans or this league checking. There\u2019s no time for it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Can WNBA Do To Stop Social Media Trolls Spewing Racism and Misogyny<\/p>\n

We have definitely been down this path with the WNBA before. There is a whole contingent of new fans that are here to support Caitlin Clark, stir the pot and gaslight people on social media with racial slurs and misogynistic ideologies.<\/p>\n

\"Image\"<\/p>\n

While the WNBA\u2019s statement is commendable and as an organization you have to protect your players if they are under attack, there\u2019s little anyone can do about how people choose to express themselves on social media. Especially as it pertains to a mega celebrity whose mere existence and popularity at its corporate core, is fueled by racism and hints of white supremacy.<\/p>\n

The WNBA has always been a progressive, liberal-slanted league that is clear on its support of social, racial and gender equality and the LBGTQ community. This onslaught of aggressive, right-wing support that has helped Clark rise to one of the most famous athletes in sports in a few years is not something the WNBA is used to.<\/p>\n

Being discussed, criticized and treated on equal footing as the men\u2019s league by male fans is also something new, and clearly the gatekeepers and veterans in the league don\u2019t like it. Even if this is what they thought they wanted.<\/p>\n

Rebecca Lobo Outraged About Increase In Hate Speech Towards WNBA Players On Social Media:\u00a0Says \u201cW\u201d Will Always Use Platform<\/p>\n

WNBA legend and analyst\u00a0Rebecca Lobo\u00a0had plenty to say on the matter on ESPN\u2019s \u201cSportsCenter\u201d on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re someone who consumes WNBA content on social media, you have seen hate-filled and racist speech skyrocket this year,\u201d Lobo said while referring to the disgusting email that Carrington received that allegedly threatened her life.<\/p>\n

Lobo offers a solution:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe league absolutely needs to investigate these things and social media platforms need to do a better job policing this content,\u201d added Lobo, one of the first stars of the WNBA. \u201cNot at all surprised that Alyssa Thomas spoke up yesterday. If you know the WNBA, you know that social justice, especially racial justice, the women are going to speak out and use their platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, not sure what the WNBA can do to control this new breed of fan and Clark worshipper.<\/p>\n

The WNBA got chartered flights, saw unprecedented growth in every branding metric because of these fans that they now say are beyond terrible. It\u2019s a slippery slope because it\u2019s not an individual that the league is fighting. It\u2019s a culture of social media communication that now defines how future generations interact. The tool itself is not based in honor, integrity or a commitment to spread unifying methods of communication rather than divisive ones. It\u2019s actually become the perfect tool for division.<\/p>\n

WNBA Players Should Lock In, Speak Out, But Ignore Social Media Trolls<\/p>\n

Once you open Pandora\u2019s box and allow your product to be ingested by mainstream America, being a product that was somewhat hidden and protected by obscurity (while being funded by the NBA) is no longer an advantage.<\/p>\n

One would have to believe, with the explosion in attendance and ratings and the confidence the NBA showed by breaking the league off $2.3 billion over 11 years with a new media deal, that the players would find a way to ignore the few obnoxious idiots online and zero in on improving the product for the fans who really make the league go.<\/p>\n

Racism is bad in all forms, but the women of the WNBA can\u2019t let a longstanding problem in America stop them from elevating themselves, their league and their connection with the fans. There\u2019s always going to be some bad apples in the bunch, and when you can press block or delete, that\u2019s a luxury that should be used while you keep building your brand and catering to real fans.<\/p>\n

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