Welcome to Basketball Insider, powered by The BIG EAST Conference. The past few weeks, listening to so many people talk about how poisonous the discourse is around the WNBA, recalls for me a certain period of time in sports media history.
Basketball Insider
Back in the 2010s, there was a certain kind of general newspaper sports columnist who, without fail, would cover and write about anything in men’s sports. Women’s sports? Well. The columnist would show up and write about the big event, but not really — the column would be instead about A) how great the event was and therefore B) there really should be more coverage about women’s sports in general.
And then that columnist would leave and his next 50 columns would be about, you guessed it, men’s sports. And those of us doing this regularly would wonder: instead of writing that column, what about, you know, actually covering women’s sports?
So I had some flashbacks when I was asked late last week why so many people decrying the state of WNBA conversation and coverage right now aren’t, you know, doing something about it.
You’ll forgive me for some bragging here for a moment: our staff is absolutely killing it. There are clear moments where what is happening within the bad-faith effort to hijack the league in the service of an anti-trans agenda still rises to the level of news. When Sophie Cunningham first spoke, it was newsworthy. When Cheryl Reeve spoke about Cunningham’s comments to both the media and Cunningham herself, it was newsworthy. We won’t shy away from covering those moments, either — that would itself qualify as putting a political agenda over serving you, the reader.
Clearly, this is having an effect on the people directly involved in the sport, and so when Stephanie White speaks up about it, we cover that, too.
But we will not, ever, create a headline and then search for a story which will best optimize it.
And just as important: there are so many worthwhile stories to tell in this league right now, and I am proud of how many we tell, and the depth with which we tell them. Rebecca Allen’s potential swan song. Diana Taurasi‘s ascension to the Phoenix Mercury Ring of Honor. Reporting live from the Hall of Fame induction. The way the Washington Mystics develop players. That’s just a sample from this past weekend.
Rep The IX Sports at your next game!
Shop the logo collection or special “Women’s Sports are Front Page News” collection now on Shopify.
I do think it is important here to point out that your friendly neighborhood WNBA writer is not primarily responsible for the scarcity of non-click bait headlines. It is the natural outgrowth of a system that rewards clicks over long-term service to subscribers, causing editors to prioritize hitting traffic metrics set by non-journalists. There is a reason we built our editorial structure here differently, and there is also a reason our renewal rate is above 99% this year. (We do still need your help, and we’ll be sharing some formal ways to do that in the coming weeks.)
But similarly, for fans: you simply do not need to engage in the bad-faith nonsense. To be sure, there are fans who love basketball and also feel the need to express themselves at this moment when the trans community is under attack. I am not suggesting there is something wrong with doing so. I am merely telling you: it is entirely possible to immerse yourself in the WNBA without subjecting yourself to a single, fleeting thought about Enes Kanter Freedom.
You truly can do this. Read everything we produce, in all WNBA markets, here at The IX Sports. Reward the writing and podcasts that don’t rely on heat over light across the WNBA journalism ecosphere — there’s plenty of folks who are producing it in different ways, and they will thank you for your attention, since it makes it easier for that journalist to make the next non-culture war pitch to their editor. Attend the games or watch them on television, like you would any other sporting event. None of this has disappeared! It’s just being partially obscured by a partial solar eclipse of bullshit.
I acknowledge it is difficult to look away from an ecosystem built around the idea that it is possible to get anyone angry enough to engage. I will tell you that, despite my need to stay on top of all that is happening because informing people is my job, I spend less time on social media than ever and it has produced nothing but clarity for me. And similarly, we work overtime on our own social media channels to make sure sourced, reported and verified information is able to enter the discourse.
Ultimately, I believe this current storm is finite. There will come a time when this insidious work has run its course, and the storm will move to another faux outrage. As the media industry chases the high of inflated traffic from platforms that prefer to serve their stories of choice rather than encourage organic search, ever more extreme takes are bound to take root. But eventually, the bubble supporting that viral growth will pop. I don’t know how much damage will be done before it happens but there is, absolutely, an endpoint.
And you, the WNBA fan, do not need to help prolong this misery. You don’t need to be miserable in the slightest (about basketball, at least)! Watch the games. Read the stories, the basketball stories. Go revel in a night of Olivia Miles or Jessica Shepard, Jonquel Jones or Rhyne Howard. We’ll keep on covering all of it. It is entirely possible, even highly recommended, that whatever work you are doing to repair the world, you are also entitled to the joy of your passions. They help power that work.
Speak out when you can make a difference. And when you cannot? Enjoy the ballgame.
This week in women’s basketball
We’re about to learn a lot about the Minnesota Lynx.
I have not wavered in my Ta’Niya Latson belief.
Ezi Magbegor’s offseason is going to be fascinating.
Tiffany Hayes retired in 2023, but her un-retirement has been pretty impressive!
Fascinating look at how the Atlanta Dream approached the trade deadline.
Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women’s Sports Daily
We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women’s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women’s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!
Five at The IX: The New York Liberty escape a Sparks comeback
We have a YouTube page you ought to subscribe to, friends: we have beat reporters in every market here to take you inside every single WNBA game. Here’s our Jackie Powell after a wild one against the Los Angeles Sparks.
Soccer: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer
Tennis: Joey Dillon, @JoeyDillon, Freelance Tennis Writer
Basketball: Howard Megdal, @HowardMegdal, The IX Sports
Softball: Maren Angus-Coombs, @Maren-Angus, The IX Sports
Golf: Marin Dremock, @MDremock, The IX Sports
Hockey: @TheIceGarden, The Ice Garden
Gymnastics: Jessica Taylor Price, @jesstaylorprice, Freelance Writer
