Instead of celebrating the rising influence of women’s basketball, right-wing media seized on the highly anticipated draft to attack the WNB
Gideon Taaffe and Charis Hoard at MMFA:
Instead of celebrating the rising influence of women’s basketball, right-wing media seized on the highly anticipated draft to attack the WNBA and dismiss the low wages of some of basketball’s biggest stars. After a historic women’s NCAA tournament, the Women’s National Basketball Association draft drew substantial media attention both praising the rising influence of the league and criticizing the low wages of the league’s stars. Right-wing media chose to denigrate the sport and its players rather than engage with critiques of how women athletes are treated.
With the WNBA's popularity surging due to several college megastars such as Caitlin Clark being drafted, right-wing media launched unhinged sexist attacks against the league (and women's sports in general). These same people attacking the WNBA and women's sports launch attacks against trans women participating in women's sports under the purported guise of "saving women's sports."