Michael Porter Jr. has had a busy offseason this year. Well, somewhat. His appearance on the Ball in the Family podcast sparked the latest outcry after he claimed that, as an 8th grader, he could dominate future WNBA players. Of course, that didn’t sit well, and WNBA legend Angel McCoughtry had a choice of words for him.

Addressing Porter’s comments head-on, the 39-year-old said, “You was dominating against a woman in the eighth grade. What does he want? Does he want a cookie? You want a medal for that? The only thing that should be coming out of a man’s mouth about a woman is uplifting her.”

McCoughtry also illustrated the challenges women endure as professional athletes, saying, “When I got to come and drop 40 and I’m on my f—— period and I’m bleeding and my stomach hurts and my back hurts… Let’s talk about how awesome it is that women, we have these babies and we come back and still dominate sports… Guess what? We are wives. So, it’s not easy to take care of a husband and kids and come and dominate a sport. Let’s talk about how strong and awesome that is.”

It is a known fact that as women athletes compete later in life, it is more likely that they will pause training to have a family. Only a handful of women, like Serena Williams and Allyson Felix, have been praised for returning to elite-level competition after giving birth. But they happen to be the very women who have time and again pointed out how hard it is to come back, and that they weren’t sure they could do it twice.

Turning the page to the WNBA side now, even Skylar Diggins-Smith stood unsure if she was at 100% yet after having two children. While that’s one thing, her comeback was rare as well. In the league’s nearly 3-decade history, only a handful of women have returned to play after their second pregnancy. Besides Smith, Dearica Hamby happens to be another. And time and again, they have spoken about postpartum struggles and how difficult it was to leave their kids when they needed to go to the gym or travel for games elsewhere.

Beyond the physical toll, McCoughtry also reflected on previous and current NBA legends and how they have historically uplifted their female counterparts. As a matter of fact, we have seen several NBA players attending WNBA games frequently. “If you notice real quick, the elites: Kobe don’t say this kind of stuff about us. He never did. He only uplifted us and supported us. Bron don’t talk that kind of stuff. Why the elites don’t talk like that?

Finally, McCoughtry issued an open invitation to Porter to help him gain perspective firsthand. “I would love to see him come practice with us one time. You know, I think he needs to see the ins and outs of how hard we do work and how much we do put our bodies through. Because sometimes they just look through this lens from the outside and they don’t they don’t really see the inside. And I think if he came and spent the day with us, he would have a new appreciation.”

The invitation is an indication of her beliefs: respect and understanding come from experience, not unexamined boasts about youth-level competition. And while the backlash he received made up one end of the spectrum, the other end of it marked support.

Draymond Green weighs in on MPJ’s remarks amidst Nets’ instructions

Amidst the backlash over Michael Porter Jr.’s recent statements, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green expressed support for Porter’s outspokenness, something Green has been known for throughout his career. Speaking on the Draymond Green Podcast, he said, “Michael Porter Jr. had the craziest run of podcasting this summer. Of anyone I’ve seen in the podcasting space in a long time, if any time, he did everything from talking about his old team to bringing a couple guys’ baby mamas on his platform. Yeah, it was a very interesting, talked about his dating and how he made the girl pay the rent.”

Green called his antics “very f—— entertaining,” and added that, “I had no idea that was the guy behind the basketball jersey.”

Green also noted the Brooklyn Nets, Porter’s new team, intervening to moderate his commentary. “It seems like once he left Denver, it was like a free-for-all, like, ‘I can say whatever the hell I want to say right now,’ and apparently the Nets weren’t quite liking that and they asked him to chill out and MPJ said, ‘All right I’m chilling, I’m not going to talk about certain things.’” The remarks illustrate the tension between Porter’s media freedom and the Nets’ management seeking to protect both his and the franchise’s image.

Finally, Draymond Green reflected on Porter’s public persona and the path he has carved for himself. “MPJ, you probably created yourself a lane when you’re done, raunchy sex television, Michael Porter Jr. going to run the field. So I’ll be looking forward to hearing what else he has to say.”

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What do you think? Is MPJ too provocative, or just simply speaking his mind?