While a historic season nears its conclusion with the WNBA Finals set to begin later this week, the league also finds itself dealing with drama in the sports media space.
Over the course of the past few weeks, USA Today columnist Christine Brennan’s coverage of the WNBA has come under a microscope following her controversial questioning of Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington following a collision of Caitlin Clark. Brennan’s reporting has already resulted in criticism from the WNBA players union and fellow journalists, with the longtime columnist — who is writing a book about Clark — standing by her actions.
Now the situation involving Brennan and the league has a new layer, which comes in the form of her recent appearance on the Good Game with Sarah Spain podcast.
During her conversation with Spain, Brennan recalled the aftermath of her controversial questioning of Carrington, revealing that she had been confronted by Carrington’s Sun teammate DeWanna Bonner. But while Brennan downplayed the confrontational nature of the conversation with Bonner, that might be open to interpretation, with Spain reporting on Monday that the columnist had filed a complaint with the league regarding the exchange.
In our interview Christine spoke about an exchange with the Sun’s DeWanna Bonner, saying “I would not call it, um, heated. I would call it a person coming up to talk to me.”
Two sources have since confirmed that Christine filed a complaint with the league regarding the exchange. https://t.co/0YHIspJTEV
— Sarah Spain (@SarahSpain) October 7, 2024
Brennan, however, was quick to dispute Spain’s reporting while also questioning why the former Spain & Fitz co-host didn’t reach out to her regarding the matter.
“Hi Sarah, this is inaccurate. It is false. I have not filed a complaint. I have not contacted anyone at the league,” Brennan wrote. “Your sources are wrong. You and I have had a long and good relationship which is why I always enjoy speaking with you. Why didn’t you call me before posting this?”
Hi Sarah, this is inaccurate. It is false. I have not filed a complaint. I have not contacted anyone at the league. Your sources are wrong. You and I have had a long and good relationship which is why I always enjoy speaking with you. Why didn’t you call me before posting this? https://t.co/MWKeUPSlNG
— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) October 7, 2024
While much of the controversy regarding Brennan’s coverage of the WNBA has involved shades of gray, the issue of whether she filed a report with the league is fairly binary. Either she did file a complaint with the WNBA and Spain’s report is correct or she didn’t and the report is inaccurate.
Either way, Brennan does raise a fair point by asking why Spain didn’t contact her regarding the report, especially considering their preexisting relationship. It will be interesting to see what more comes from this entire ordeal, especially with one of the more high profile WNBA Finals in recent memory set to kickoff on Thursday.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.