WNBA’s Rising Popularity Faces the Challenge of Online Abuse
In an era where women’s basketball is gaining unprecedented attention, the WNBA finds itself navigating a troubling wave of targeted online abuse. Players across the league are sounding the alarm as they increasingly become the focal points of harassment and threats, both online and in person. The recent actions of the Chicago Sky highlight the steps franchises are taking to protect their players.
Chicago Sky’s Proactive Measures
Since becoming a co-owner of the Chicago Sky in 2023, Nadia Rawlinson has emphasized empathy towards her players, drawn from her extensive experience in the corporate sector as an African-American woman. This understanding became crucial when players reported experiencing significant online abuse.
“When our players were telling us this is what they’re seeing, I believed them because it was very much related to how I experience my own life,” Rawlinson stated.
In response to these challenges, the Chicago Sky has taken an unprecedented step by partnering with American University’s PERIL and Moonshot, a threat intelligence company. PERIL aims to prevent radicalization through community resilience, while Moonshot utilizes technology initially designed for national security to monitor online threats against players.
Popularity and Cultural Division
The WNBA’s rising popularity has inadvertently attracted bad faith actors seeking to exploit the platform for their agendas. Incidents such as sex toys being thrown onto courts and confrontations involving former NBA players underline the ongoing cultural tensions surrounding the league.
Addressing Misogyny and Hate
Cynthia Miller-Idriss, founder of PERIL, identifies misogyny as a fundamental factor driving various forms of violence, including those targeting WNBA players. Her book, Man Up: The New Misogyny & The Rise of Violent Extremism, explores this connection.
“[Misogyny] is one of the biggest common denominators in gang violence, in stalking harassment of athletes, in gender disinformation campaigns against politicians, and in school shootings and other acts of mass violence, terrorism and targeted violence,” she explained.
The collaboration with the Chicago Sky has allowed PERIL to introduce the “Be the Sixth Player” campaign, encouraging sports fans to actively counter misogynistic rhetoric.
The Broader Context of Abuse
The issue of online abuse is not confined to the WNBA. Moonshot’s data for Team USA during the Paris 2024 Olympics and the upcoming Milano-Cortina 2026 games reveal a significant increase in threats against athletes, with women and people of color being disproportionately targeted.
The nature of these threats often differs based on gender, with women facing identity-based abuse rather than performance-related criticism.
“When threats are directed at men, they skew more toward performance-based hostility, whereas for women, the abuse is disproportionately about their identity, their gender, their appearance, their sexuality,” said Michael Pattullo, head of insights for Moonshot’s U.S. office.
This concerning trend is exacerbated by advancements in technology, such as AI-generated fake images, and a shifting cultural dialogue around women’s roles in society.
WNBA players, by challenging traditional gender norms and embracing diversity, find themselves at the heart of these cultural debates, as noted by independent journalist Frankie de la Cretaz.
