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After a public exchange with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert over her comments about Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart appears to be satisfied with the league's reaction to the discourse via Jackie Powell, a women's basketball reporter.
“And I feel like between that and the letter, the thing that I appreciate the most is accountability, you know. Understanding what you did or didn't say and how wrong that is because you didn't kind of check people at the door. And so that here in this league, there is a no-tolerance policy for all things, but especially racism.
“And you know that she needs to be better in answering her questions and making sure that you know you're always ready for what's being asked, because as players, we're in the same boat and situation, you know we're always ready for what's going to be asked, and making sure that we're representing the W, ourselves and our families as best we can.”
Stewart's comments follow Engelbert's reaction to the fallout from her original comments.
The saga between Liberty's Stewart, Engelbert about Clark, Reese
The WNBA's growing pains should be embraced. Mistakes and misstatements are a part of growth and change. A player of Stewart's caliber from a big-market team like the New York Liberty brings the national spotlight to its issues, both the good and the bad, is best for the long-term interests of the sport.
Engelbert seems to have done well to address the earnest concerns of the players and responded in kind via ESPN's Michael Voepel.
“I was asked a question about WNBA rivalries and the dark side of social media and race, and simply put, my answer missed the mark and I'm sorry,” Engelbert wrote to the players in a letter obtained by ESPN. “I regret that I didn't express, in a clear and definitive way, condemnation of the hateful speech that is all too often directed at WNBA players on social media.”
The Women's National Basketball Players Association executive director Terri Jackson continued to push Engelbert via a statement released to the media.
“We find it unacceptable to encourage the players to market this league and to engage and/or post on social media to promote this league and then leave the players unprotected in the manner in which they have,” Jackson said. “We expected the league to recognize the negative impact it was having on the players as well as its business and to have proactively addressed this situation earlier in the season.”
Breanna Stewart and the Liberty have a league-best 31-6 record and will cruise into the WNBA postseason as the No. 1 seed. The league's best players like Stewart do the sport a favor by holding the league accountable for its actions and words.
