For most of its history, the WNBA existed on the margins of American professional sports. Its players were outspoken on race, gender and LGBTQ rights, while the league struggled for the money and attention enjoyed by men’s sports. But today, the league has never been more popular.
Women’s basketball has entered a new era of mainstream attention, driven in part by stars like Caitlin Clark. But that attention has brought something else with it: the American culture war.
Recently, a WNBA player has become a conservative media celebrity for her views on transgender athletes, former NBA players are trolling the league over the same issue, and even the Trump administration has taken an interest.
Guest host Matthew Amha speaks to Seerat Sohi of the Ringer about how the WNBA got entangled in culture war issues and what happens when a league with a distinctive cultural identity suddenly finds itself with a much bigger, and more politically diverse, audience?
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