Riley Gaines says WNBA is ‘hellbent’ on being an activist organization over a basketball league
The reaction from some in the WNBA to Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham voicing her support of keeping biological men out of women's sports has been about what you might expect: wild.
With some wild behavior coming from the league, Riley Gaines gave her take on the matter in the latest episode of her podcast, "The Riley Gaines Show."
The former collegiate swimmer made it clear that she practices what she preaches and is focused on ensuring that women and girls get the opportunities in sports that were meant for them.
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"My entire brand has been built on protecting women’s sports," Gaines said. "And that’s not just a slogan that I say for social media or for clicks online. I really mean it. I want women to have the opportunity to compete and to succeed in their sport, whatever that sport may be.
"But the WNBA, they seem determined to sabotage (themselves) at every single opportunity."
And this time, as Gaines pointed out, this situation with how Cunningham and those who share similar views on the topic of keeping women's sports safe and fair — which is most people — has the league at a real crossroads.
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"They can either be a professional women’s basketball league, or they can be an activist organization that occasionally plays basketball," she said. And it seems as if they’re hellbent on fulfilling the latter."
Of course, what is going on in the WNBA is just a part of the greater landscape. Gaines noted that the optics of adults — including a team owner — yelling at teenagers for supporting a common-sense belief is a disturbing look for society at large.
"When grown adults feel emboldened to pick on teenage girls, there is something seriously wrong with society," she said. "How could you possibly stand there and think that you are the bigger person?"
It's a fair question, and one that some folks are going to need to grapple with.
