It was to be expected that the short tweet published by Cathy Engelbert after criticism from players about his comments about the rivalry between Caitlin Clark And Angel Reese would not be enough. The WNBA's “commissioning” had completely ignored the negative effects of the duel, which had greatly disappointed the players.
ESPN reports, however, that Cathy Engelbert sent a letter to all the players in the league, and that she spoke directly to several of them, in order to express her regrets.
“I was asked a question about WNBA rivalries and the dark side of social media and the racial debate, and to put it simply, my answer missed the mark and I’m sorry.”she wrote in her letter. “I regret not having expressed, clearly and definitively, my condemnation of the hateful speech that is too often directed at WNBA players on social media.”
Do not encourage hate on the Internet
While there's little the WNBA can do about the hate that's being spread against players on social media, the players' union was frustrated that Engelbert didn't condemn it more clearly.
“We believe it is unacceptable to encourage players to promote this league and engage and/or post on social media to promote this league, and then leave players unprotected in the manner in which they do so.”explained Terri Jackson, executive director of the players' union.
A message well received by Cathy Engelbert.
“I should have said directly and unequivocally that hate speech is harmful”she concluded. “This is a lesson I approach with humility. There is absolutely no place for racism, misogyny, homophobia and other forms of hate in the WNBA or anywhere else. I know many of you have been dealing with this for a long time. I want us as a league to do our part to change the too-often toxic and abusive nature of the discourse on social media.”
