ESPN host Stephen A. Smith tried to pin some of the political turmoil surrounding the WNBA on “the right,” but his argument ultimately circled back to the league’s own failures.
Even as Smith accused conservatives of politicizing controversy, he argued that the WNBA created the opening by failing to establish clear rules and leadership, namely around the transgender issue increasingly confronting the league.
On his eponymous YouTube show Monday, Smith put the responsibility on the league office, arguing that its lack of clear guidelines has allowed disputes over biological males competing in women’s sports to consume the conversation.
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“You’ve got to have rules and regulations,” Smith said. “You’ve got to have law. You’ve got to have order. You can’t have this.”
Smith then turned his attention to the right, accusing conservatives of maneuvering through the controversy for political advantage.
That includes former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, who have declared themselves eligible for the 2027 WNBA Draft in an effort to challenge the league’s gender-eligibility rules.
Smith’s larger point: The WNBA left the door open for its political opponents to walk right through it.
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“Sure, the right is maneuvering its way through the terrain and politicizing this issue,” Smith said. “It doesn’t negate the fact that the WNBA left the door open for it to happen. They have dropped the ball. I’m talking about the league office. I’m not talking about players.”
Smith blamed the right for exploiting the controversy while simultaneously arguing that the WNBA made itself vulnerable to that exploitation.
“And now it’s gotten to the point where everything about them is going to be politicized.”
Smith brought up Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who has drawn attention for speaking out on women’s sports and has taken plenty of heat for views that don’t exactly mesh with the WNBA establishment.
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Smith pointed to Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and questioned whether the Republican official would show the same interest if an athlete expressed liberal views. Smith also made clear that he agrees with Cunningham’s position on protecting female athletics.
“You’ve got the Florida attorney general. Clearly, it’s politicized. I wonder if he would have said that if it was somebody other than Sophie Cunningham, who obviously has made a name for herself speaking up about the issues that she has spoken about as it pertains to protecting girls in competitive sports, which, by the way, I support her position on,” Smith said.
“If that had been a liberal, or somebody with a liberal-thinking mind in terms of that particular issue, who spouted stuff opposite of what Sophie Cunningham would have said, would the Florida attorney general, James Uthmeier, have taken that position then? I don’t think so, but I don’t know.”
But Smith’s attempt to blame the right for politicizing the controversy also served his broader criticism of the WNBA.
“But the time has come for folks to stop whining about how stuff is being politicized and do something about it so it can’t be politicized,” Smith said. “Do something or suck it up! Do something or suck it up. You don’t have a choice other than those two.”
Smith closed with a warning: As long as the WNBA keeps serving up perceived double standards, critics will keep feasting on them.
“You’ve got to take a stand at some point, because folks are coming,” Smith said. “Because it’s an opportunity to point out flagrant hypocrisies, and they’re not going to pass it up, no matter what folks say.”
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