The Indiana Fever’s 109-75 victory over the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday will be remembered for multiple reasons. Besides handing the defending champions their biggest loss of the season, Caitlin Clark became the fastest player in league history to reach 600 career assists. However, once the final buzzer sounded, the conversation quickly turned to how one Aces star got treated on social media because of her involvement in a foul call alongside Clark.

After Alyssa Thomas faced online harassment after her flagrant foul on Clark during their June 24 clash, Chelsea Gray publicly shared a racist message she received after Sunday’s game. Now, it’s led to swift consequences for the sender. A day after the Las Vegas Aces veteran posted a screenshot of the direct message on her Instagram story, Hilton Grand Vacations confirmed the employee responsible was no longer with the company.

“The person responsible for posting this information is no longer with the company. His behavior was in violation of multiple company policies and does not reflect our company’s values in any way,” Hilton Grand Vacations confirmed in their statement on X.

Here’s what happened: Alongside the screenshot of the message, the six-time WNBA All-Star pushed back against claims that players exaggerate online abuse.

“People act like we just make this s— up,” Gray wrote. “And the audacity to tell us as athletes to ‘shut up and dribble.'”

The offensive message had arrived after Gray was involved in one of the game’s most talked-about moments. During the first half, she and Caitlin Clark battled for position in the post before Gray’s elbow caught the Fever guard in the midsection. Clark fell to the floor, but officials ruled it a routine basketball play and assessed it as a common foul.

But when Gray received a racist remark on social media, she chose not to conceal the sender’s identity when she shared the screenshot. Social media users identified the individual and contacted his employer, leading Hilton Grand Vacations to review the matter and ultimately terminate his employment.

The episode also follows a pattern that has emerged during Caitlin Clark’s second WNBA season. Earlier this year, Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas revealed she received racist messages and death threats after a separate physical incident involving Clark.

Alyssa Thomas had already warned the WNBA about growing online abuse

Thomas’ comments followed a June 24 game against the Indiana Fever. While the officials didn’t call the foul on Clark in real time, they reviewed it, upgraded it to a Flagrant 2, and Thomas was suspended for one game. After serving her suspension, Thomas said the fallout off the court was much more disturbing.

Speaking to the media days later, the Mercury forward said the messages she received crossed every line. She also questioned whether the league had done enough to protect its players from targeted abuse online, directing criticism toward WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

“We’re so concerned about the safety on the court, but time and time again, we’re having people threaten our lives,” Thomas had shared in June. “Leaking addresses out there. Putting crazy pictures that have nothing to do with basketball. It’s really unacceptable. It’s something that needs to change in this league, and I’m just really sick and tired of it.”

Her comments came after the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association reached a landmark collective bargaining agreement in March.

Along with financial improvements, the agreement placed greater emphasis on player protection by expanding arena security, improving technological support, strengthening mental health resources, reinforcing the league’s fan code of conduct and curbing online bullying and harassment.

However, Chelsea Gray’s experience has now added another high-profile example to those concerns, suggesting that the challenge of protecting players extends well beyond the final whistle.