What the WNBA rhetoric reveals about attitudes toward Black women athletes

Liberty Sky Basketball — Chicago Sky’s Chennedy Carter watches as a teammate take a free throw during a WNBA basketball game against the New York Liberty Tuesday, June 4, 2024, in Chicago. Courtesy of Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press

Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons

What the WNBA rhetoric reveals about attitudes toward Black women athletes

The discourse has been – in a word – messy.

Chicago Sky’s Chennedy Carter watches as a teammate take a free throw during a WNBA basketball game against the New York Liberty Tuesday, June 4, 2024, in Chicago. Courtesy of Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press

Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press

By Nadia Hernandez

Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter’s body check against WNBA rookie Caitlin Clark sparked nationwide conversations about what’s considered to be “too aggressive” during games.

But conduct like that in a professional league is far from disorderly, so why did it cause such a stir?

Reset hosts a roundtable discussion to break down the rhetoric and what the season’s coverage will look like going forward.

GUESTS: Brandon Pope, reporter/anchor at CW 26

Tiffany Walden, editor-in-chief and co-founder of The Triibe

Cheryl Raye-Stout, WBEZ sports contributor