WNBA Growth Brings Scrutiny, Backlash Against Critical Coverage

For years, WNBA players and fans complained that the league received little respect. Coverage lacked depth. TV deals fell short. Salaries stayed low. Facilities disappointed. Media attention was sparse.

The league has turned that around. Attendance surges. Ratings climb. Players earn far more under a new collective bargaining agreement linked to a media rights package worth more than $3 billion. Teams construct practice facilities that match or exceed NBA standards.

Success invites examination. Jemele Hill discussed this on her 'Flagrant and Funny' podcast after backlash for criticizing the WNBA's tight locker-room media access rules. She said fans long saw women's basketball reporters as allies, not neutral voices.

'There’s more people covering the league now, it’s under more scrutiny, and (the fans) have had the expectation that the journalists are supposed to be extensions of teams. And the journalists are not supposed to be that,' Hill said. 'They expect our jobs to be to support the women. And while the support is, to me, in the fact that we have built an entire podcast around discussing women’s sports and all the culture and the issues and all the things that come with it, they expect the journalists to be cheerleaders.'

WNBA coverage once blended journalism with promotion. The league was small. Women's sports got less funding and regard. Reporters often aimed to boost the game.

The author, who interned in the Indiana Fever's PR department in 2009 when tickets went unsold, understands that drive as a woman in sports.

But fans, players and some media now treat criticism as disloyalty. Tough questions draw 'disrespect' charges. Poor play calls prompt 'misogyny' claims. Reporters face demands to act like league publicists.

Tensions rise as the WNBA draws mainstream outlets beyond its core circle. Outrage follows hard questions. Locker-room access stays limited. Players and fans label non-glowing coverage as unsupportive of women.

Last year, veteran reporter Christine Brennan drew a WNBPA statement after asking DiJonai Carrington if contact with Caitlin Clark was deliberate. Critics said she pushed a narrative.

Reporters who fault limited locker-room policies, including Hill, met hostility, though such interviews standard in men's pro sports.

Last month, Dallas Wings PR cut off a reporter's question to rookie Azzi Fudd about handling attention with teammate and rumored girlfriend Paige Bueckers. Dawn Staley called a CBS reporter 'biased' for naming Golden State Valkyries players.

Angel Reese said she would pay a fine rather than face aggressive reporters. Megan Rapinoe praised the stance.

Calling out a bad game now risks sexism accusations. Male athletes face constant criticism without such complaints.

This double standard harms women's sports. Equality requires honest review of performances, choices and issues, positive or negative.

Trolls stir trouble without watching the league. Credentialed reporters doing objective work are not foes.

The author's outlet once struggled for WNBA credentials. Media culture still feels clubby.

To match major leagues, the WNBA must take the full package: high salaries, chartered flights, top facilities, Met Gala nods, plus scrutiny, hard questions and accountability.