The trans athlete in women’s sports debate and ex-NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom’s actions surrounding WNBA eligibility have not only affected the players but also those reporting on them. Most recently, Brazilian-American WBB reporter Roberta Rodrigues has made a drastic announcement based on her experience covering the WNBA and how it has affected her decision.
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“Personal announcement. Effective today, I am taking a small, temporary step back from women’s basketball coverage. Wrote down some thoughts as to why. Not defeated, just tired. Need some time to remind myself of why I love this game. Women’s basketball has been the love of my life for years now. It has guided almost every step I have taken in life…” Rodrigues wrote on X.
However, the Forbes writer explained that the recent development, in light of Sophie Cunningham’s July 21 comments opposing trans athletes participating in women’s sports, has led to incidents that have exhausted the reporter.
“Covering women’s basketball has recently brought me more anxiety than joy. Perhaps it’s the lies that have been told about me, the threats, the invasion of privacy, and even the silence from people who could speak up. But it was the latest wave of harassment, which included people finding my phone number, that did it for me.”
The incident that led her to this decision happened after Roberta Rodrigues stated her opinion following the Ense Kanter Freedom incident at the Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky game on August 23.
At one point in the game, when the Sky was gradually reducing the gap, their star guard Natasha Cloud turned to the former NBA player who was attending the game, and things immediately got heated.
As Cloud charged toward Freedom, the former NBA player who sparked fresh controversy by declaring himself eligible for the 2027 WNBA also walked toward Cloud with his arms outstretched, before officials and arena security intervened.
Following his initial declaration on August 7, Enes Kanter Freedom has refused to back down and insisted that since the WNBA doesn’t define the word “woman” in its CBA, he did not break any rules by declaring himself eligible for the WNBA.
After the on-court incident involving Natasha Cloud, the former Boston Celtics player was even escorted out of the arena.
Following the incident, Rodrigues took to social media and made it clear that she supported Cloud. However, the following day she posted another screenshot that revealed she had been receiving calls from unknown numbers.
Such an incident has led Roberta to leave the WNBA space for the time being, at least. However, she confirmed that she will continue her long-form writing work for Forbes and behind-the-scenes support for Black Rose Media.
“If they add ‘biological’ next to the word female, I will drop everything immediately.” “Until then, I'll be getting ready for the 2027 WNBA draft!” - Enes Kanter Freedom.
Roberta is not the only reporter to have faced issues with WNBA fan bases this season. She is joined by Grant Afseth, a veteran journalist covering the Dallas Wings for Ballislife and other publications. Just like Roberta, Afseth also received a rather unsettling message, seemingly after some fans of Azzi Fudd felt his criticisms of the No. 1 overall rookie were too harsh.
Afseth was asked whether the threats were something normal to him or a completely foreign encounter.
“I’ve covered plenty of star athletes and this is the only instance this has happened. So there’s your answer.” stated Afseth.
However, following the threat, Take Flight Media announced on Instagram Threads that Afseth will no longer be covering the Dallas Wings. It was a decision made by the veteran writer himself.
Following Afseth’s decision, it did not take long for his colleagues to voice strong support for the former Wings writer while questioning fans’ motives and mindsets. Afseth’s managing editor, Sara Jane Gamelli, TCU Horned Frogs reporter Melissa Triebwasser, and fellow Wings reporter Bobby Karalla all came out to support Afseth on social media.