The WNBA has enjoyed unprecedented attention in recent years, but with that spotlight has come an intense wave of debate. Whether it be officiating or inclusion in women’s sports, these debates are becoming part of the conversation surrounding the league, but for WNBA legend Dawn Staley, the noise shows just how far the league has come.
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The South Carolina coach was interviewed at Hall of Fame weekend in Springfield, where she is being enshrined as part of the 1996 Olympic team that helped launch the WNBA. There, she compared the newfound attention to the growing pains the NBA experienced during its own earlier years, according to X user @ChiStateOfMind_.
“All the big pieces and all the things that are happening from a racial standpoint, from an officiating standpoint are great. They’re great because the NBA went through it — the NBA went through all of it. So this is just badges of honor. We will get through it.”
The WNBA’s viewership has steadily increased over the last few years, and it shows no sign of stopping. This season saw 17% more viewership than last year, but not all the attention has been positive.
Over the last month, the league has faced a heated debate on trans athletes following a Sophie Cunningham profile released by ESPN on July 21, leading to rallies outside games both in support of and against the sentiment, as well as a much-heightened media focus on the league through this lens.
Adding to this, the league also faced a major crisis earlier this season when it came to vitriol and fan hate online, with players like Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, and Chelsea Gray revealing the various threats, harassment, and slurs slung towards them on social media.
Both issues prompted the league to set up meetings. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert sat down with WNBPA, the league’s player union, to discuss the harassment faced by players online on July 17, and more recently to discuss the WNBA’s eligibility criteria in the wake of several ex-NBA players declaring for the 2027 WNBA draft on August 12.
While the issues are definitely present and need to be dealt with, it’s clear that it has pulled attention away from the on-court product this season, and Dawn Staley agrees. In the same interview, she was disappointed that great things on the court were being overshadowed in discussions about the league.
“It’s an incredible product that we’re missing out on because we got distractions every time. There’s something great happening. There are always distractions placed in your life, but you got to be able to handle them.”
Dawn Staley’s point is clear. The WNBA doesn’t have to pretend that the debates don’t exist, but finding a way through them is key to bringing the discourse back to basketball. If she’s right, these controversies will end up being a reminder of just how far the league has come.