Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy Credit: Grace Smith-IndyStar via Imagn Images
By Drew Lerner on

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On Sunday, social media became flooded with rumors about alleged racist remarks directed at Chicago Sky star Angel Reese during Saturday’s game against the Indiana Fever.

As of Sunday evening, no evidence has surfaced verifying these claims. However, given that the allegations had taken off on social media, the WNBA opted to release a statement Sunday afternoon acknowledging the league is looking into the claims.

“The WNBA strongly condemns racism, hate, and discrimination in all forms — they have no place in our league or in society. We are aware of the allegations and are looking into the matter,” the league’s statement read.

The WNBPA also released a statement in support of the league’s investigation.

“The WNBPA is aware of reports of hateful comments at yesterday’s game in Indianapolis and supports the WNBA’s current investigation into the matter. Such behavior is unacceptable in our sport. Under the WNBA’s ‘No Space for Hate’ policy, we trust the league to thoroughly investigate and take swift, appropriate action to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for all,” the player’s association statement read.

Further, the Indiana Fever itself issued a statement acknowledging the allegations.

“We are aware of the allegations of inappropriate fan conduct during yesterday’s game and we are working closely with the WNBA to complete their investigation. We stand firm in our commitment to providing a safe environment for all WNBA players,” the statement, attributed to Pacers Sports & Entertainment CEO Mel Raines, read.

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who attended Saturday’s game, claims he didn’t witness any of the alleged behavior. On Sunday, Portnoy took a strong stance against the trio of statements, suggesting the WNBA and Fever are legitimizing allegations based entirely on internet rumors. In doing so, Portnoy believes that the WNBA is painting Fever fans in an unfair light.

“Listen, I was at the game. If there was somebody being racist or saying sh*t, obviously boot ’em. Never let them back. I would be stunned beyond belief if that was the case,” Portnoy said in a social media video on Sunday.

“For the WNBA, and now the Indiana Fever, to issue statements, ‘We’re investigating,’ unless something so preposterous happened that nobody in the stadium saw — there’s not an ounce of proof, there’s not a video of it, there’s not cameraphone of it — unless something happened, which I know it didn’t. For them to acknowledge this and, again, kind of paint Indiana Fever fans, like, by just saying ‘We’re investigating the hate’ … even though it’s 100% false, by acknowledging ‘We don’t condone hate,’ and not seeing that this was an internet rumor founded of complete bullsh*t, you’re lending credence to this,” Portnoy continued.

“There was none of that. It was a great crowd. A positive crowd. Yeah, Angel Reese deserved to get her ass booed when she attacked Caitlin [Clark] on a normal foul. Other than that, what are you talking about? The WNBA, talk about killing the golden goose. Like, you guys are lucky you have Caitlin Clark. You are lucky you have the Indiana Fever. It makes the league relevant. All you do is sh*t on her. And for the Fever, by the way, to even put out that statement, I’ll eat my words if you find one iota, or if there’s even one person who is doing something. Being in that crowd, seeing that crowd, being at the game, zero point zero, zero, zero, zero, zero chance there’s any truth to this. And you add validity when you acknowledge the statement.”

So far, in the absence of concrete evidence suggesting the alleged behavior happened, Portnoy’s skepticism is understandable. As of the writing of this article, it seems like the WNBA jumped the gun in acknowledging the situation, breathing life into a scandal that could very easily have been fabricated by “internet trolls.”

In fact, some have even suggested that the WNBA’s new use of AI monitoring tools as part of its “No Space for Hate” campaign is a possible culprit.

It’s reasonable to think that the WNBA’s new technology relied on social media posts from individuals who were not in attendance at Saturday’s game, or even worse, from accounts designed to drive engagement through fabrications.

Unfortunately, the entire situation has cast a pall over the league’s opening weekend and was likely entirely avoidable.

About Drew Lerner

Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.

View all posts by Drew Lerner