How WNBA Teams Are Responding to the League’s Latest Culture War
The league issued a new media policy this year.
The WNBA has been caught up in a culture war following comments from Sophie Cunningham about wanting to protect young girls in the locker room or in sports. Several players were asked about the issue, but most deflected, including Caitlin Clark. The players' union released a statement on July 31 denouncing "hate, abuse, and demonization of any people, including transgender people." Cunningham reiterated her desire to return focus to basketball rather than the media storm.
OutKick, a conservative sports media company, has been at the forefront of the coverage, repeatedly seeking and rejecting credentials to attend Fever games. The outlet has been denied by multiple teams, including the Minnesota Lynx, Atlanta Dream, Dallas Wings, and Washington Mystics. OutKick claims they were accepted at Phoenix and Portland but not the other teams.
OutKick also reported that the Lynx, Fever, Atlanta Dream, Dallas Wings, and Washington Mystics either declined their applications without explanation or cited being at capacity.
The league's media access policy, implemented before the season, grants Tier 1 credentials to local and national outlets that regularly cover the teams. Tier 2 credentials are given to outlets that produce consistent quality reporting and meet certain criteria. The league has not provided blanket communication on credentialing since the media attention from Cunningham's statements.
Team sources described the decision-making process as a "no-win" situation for them, as they must prepare players for press conferences and maintain control over player messaging.
Written by urgent.news from Front Office Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
