Sue Bird speaks out about the racism that takes place within the WNBA.
During an episode of her podcast “A Touch More” with Megan Rapinoe, the four-time WNBA champion explained, “Racism has been impacting the WNBA well before this year. This is not a new thing. In that way, I think Caitlin is being used as a pawn. Caitlin didn’t bring racism to the WNBA. This has been happening. And that, I think, has been a shock for all of us. That other people are surprised by this. We’ve been trying to tell you.”
Bird’s comments come after many believed that the focus shifted to WNBA Rookie of the Year, Caitlin Clark instead of the issues of racism that Black players face. “We started to build a backbone, a little bit of an identity. We understood that in order to push our league forward, we were gonna have to combat these things,” Bird said. “And then you know what else we learned? A, it feels good to stand up for yourself; it feels even better to stand up for others. We started to learn people were learning from us and able to follow us in a different way, and who are we following? Black women.”
Connecticut Sun guard Dijonai Carrington also spoke on the controversy surrounding Clark when she was left with a black eye. “I don’t even know why I would intend to hit anybody in the eye. That doesn’t even make sense to me.”
Terri Jackson, WNBA Players’ Association executive director released a statement that accused the media of trying to “bait” athletes into a false narrative that moves away from the current issues.
https://x.com/thewnbpa/status/1839722135926747385?s=46&t=f45LpfSMP2bWXL9mF3rs_Q
Angel Reese has also spoken out about the issue and stated that “something has to change.” Bird went on to say, “We’re still not talking about basketball,” wanting to shift the conversation to the talent of the players.