Another side to the story
Some WNBA players see league differently than Wiggins.
The 31-year-old WNB A veteran was surprised to see the notifications on her phone last week. • Something had happened to former WNBA player Candice Wiggins. • She got her son settled in his high chair with cereal and apple juice and opened her laptop. • The story was everywhere.
Wiggins told a newspaper in San Diego she had been bullied for being a straight woman in the WNBA, adding that the league was a “toxic” environment for her.
The veteran read the story twice, then three times.
“It was strange,” said the veteran, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “I wanted to reach out and see how I could help. I felt terrible she went through that. But I was also a little mad. I played in the WNBA five seasons. I always felt supported. I always felt proud of what we were doing and what we stood for.”
I talked to this particular WNBA veteran for nearly an hour last week. I also called two current players and two other former players.
Two are gay, three are straight. Two are married mothers.
One is white, three are black, one is mixed race.
None of the five wanted to comment publicly. They are considering it.
“Bullying is a serious problem,” the 31-year old mom said. “I don’t want to deny her claims. She needs our support if that happened to her. At the same time, it wasn’t my experience or anyone else’s I’ve spoken to. And I want the WNBA to thrive. When a player says these things happened, it’s definitely bad for the league.”
Former and current WNBA players took to social media all week in response to Wiggins’ claims.
“Not my experience,” several players tweeted.
Breanna Stewart, a rookie last season in Seattle, defended the league in her response on “SportsCenter” and on her twitter feed.
“I have found the WNBA to be one of the most affirming places you can be,” she wrote. “Our league has been a leader on inclusion and progressive action.”
Stewart seemed most offended by Wiggins’ claim that 98 percent of the players in the league are gay.
“Let’s worry less about if 98 percent is accurate and ask, ‘Why does anybody care? Even if it was 100 percent, why does it matter?’ ” Stewart tweeted.
“Regardless of her (Wiggins’) personal experience, her broad based stereotypical claims amount to an attack on the LBGT community and WNBA,” she tweeted minutes later.
Bad experience overseas
A current player who is gay said she was upset by the comments.
“I played overseas in a country where being myself wasn’t OK,” the 27-year old said of playing two seasons in Turkey. “Also, I’m black and there were times over there, I felt completely on an island. My teammates didn’t know any black women; they weren’t sure how to treat me. It was hard.
“Then I get to play here. I think things are going to be better. I think I can be myself and really, it’s not there yet. It’s incredibly hard to be openly gay. It’s not something I bring to work with me. I haven’t felt like I am in the majority, either. My team is really mixed. We come from different places, different backgrounds, gay, straight, married, single, black, white. You can’t put us all in one box and say that’s who we are.”
At the same time, she feels sorry for Wiggins.
She says she understands bullying, understands feeling different, understands feeling like she is in a toxic environment. So she wishes Wiggins the best.
Wiggins’ comments stirred up emotions for the league, which has been around two decades but yearns for popularity. It’s never grown into what originators hoped it would be when it started in 1996.
But it’s not a failure, either. As far as opportunities for female athletes in this country, it’s one of the best options.
Social issues come to the fore
The league was also among the first to tackle social issues that became the standard among men’s sports last year.
Some players in the WNBA were fined for wearing black warm-up shirts in support of shooting victims last season, then boycotted talking about basketball last July in response to the fines.
After a New York Liberty vs. Indiana Fever game in July, Tamika Catchings told the media the players would only talk about Black Lives Matter.
In August, WNBA president Lisa Borders encouraged players to speak on social issues and to get out into their neighborhoods and communities.
The WNBA also has been progressive on the LBGT front.
In August, when star player Elena Delle Donne came out, it was a small blip on the radar. There were no stories about how her teammates handled the news, no concerns about ticket sales.
When former NBA player Jason Collins came out, it was the biggest story in the NBA for weeks.
“I’ve always felt like the WNBA created a safe place for women to be themselves,” said a 30-year old veteran, who played for five seasons. “I’m straight. My teammates were supportive of that. I had a close friend on my team who was gay and I supported her. We all wanted to play basketball. We wanted opportunities to follow our dreams. We all supported that and the rest of it never mattered.
“I hope Candice finds comfort and peace in her retirement. I hate that she didn’t have a positive experience. There aren’t many opportunities like the WNBA for women. If other players had experiences like hers, they should speak up so we can address them and make changes. I have no doubt the WNBA will do what it can to make this league something special for the women lucky enough to have a shot to play in it.”