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The Chicago Sky's 2024 season ended with a crushing 33-point loss to the Connecticut Sun on Thursday. The defeat knocked Chicago out of their battle with the Atlanta Dream and Washington Mystics for a spot in the playoffs. Fourth-year Sky guard Dana Evans and veteran forward Isabelle Harrison reflected on how tough the season has been. It was not just Chicago's on-the-court performance that was alarming to the players, but also, online hate from fans.
The WNBA's popularity soared in 2024 with the arrival of highly-touted rookies and an elevation of performances from the league's already-strong stars. As a result, more eyes than ever are on the league, and dialogue between fans and players on platforms like X (formerly) Twitter has been rampant.
While some of the online discourse has been constructive, a substantial amount has been hurtful and negatively impactful, especially to the Sky.
Dana Evans, Isabelle Harrison get real on how online hate affected Sky
After Thursday's loss, Dana Evans provided keen insight into how unhealthy online discourse affected Chicago during the regular season.
“I feel like sometimes, you can read tweets, you can read stuff, and that can affect people in the locker room… it was really tough,” Evans told reporters. “We know we're professionals, and we can play this game, but when you got people that's steady bashing you that's supposed to be our supporters, I feel like that was a little slap in the face. But I always said, God does not make mistakes. And I feel like this season challenged my mental to another level, and I feel like I'm going to be so much better next season prepared for everything.”
Similarly, Isabelle Harrison got emotional when speaking about the toll negative online interactions had on her.
“It's disgusting… I've never experienced this amount of hate and harassment this entire season. I get emotional about it because I know Dana went through the same. It's hard because it should've never been like that. To go and you just want to play basketball every day and have people constantly… and if it's online, it's online, but I've had to constantly block people,” Harrison began.
“Just people making narratives up about you. It's hurtful, and it's hard to just focus on basketball. And I appreciate the new eyes, but if this comes with hate and bigotry and racism, and even people that look like me bashing, you can keep it offline because it's so hurtful. You don't know how it affects people. So I think that's something that a lot of new fans need to be mindful of, and we don't want that to carry into the locker room.”
Shifting the conversation and experiencing mental growth
Evans' and Harrison's experiences serve as a stark reminder that athletes are people first. While it is fair to critique their performances, getting inappropriately personal or hateful crosses the line. Unfortunately, in an age where social media connection between fans and athletes is at an all-time high, there is increased potential for negative interactions.
It was not just hateful discourse that affected the Sky, but narratives that may not have been true. Evans alluded to fans' stories of how team veterans like her or Harrison not playing a certain way further affected the team.
“I feel like that took a toll on our team. And I feel like we tried our best to not let that shake us, but you're reading stuff, and people say, ‘You don't pass this, you don't do that.' So people are thinking that regardless of if you don't want to. And I feel like it just didn't help our team. And also, we were a young team. That didn't help,” Evans stated.
Despite having to deal with a new wave of WNBA fans whose online presence was challenging to stomach, Evans believes she and the Sky will grow from everything they faced during the 2024 season.
“But like I said, I feel like we're going to grow from this,” Evans added. “Mentally, you're going to be better.”
