Tag Archives: WNBA

What is Enes Kanter doing?

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America First Policy Institute (AFPI) is a nonprofit conservative think tank, founded in 2021 to promote Trump’s policy agenda. Recently, during the WNBA’s “trans rights” hysteria campaign, former NBA center Enes Kanter partnered with AFPI to publicize his declaration for the 2027 WNBA draft. Enes Kanter is claiming he is transitioning into being a woman. According to the rules and standards the WNBA currently has in its CBA, that’s enough. No other professional sports league or tour is this incompetent when it comes to something like this.

I originally referred to this as “one of the funnier & more well thought out stunts I’ve witnessed– maybe ever”, and that’s become the case. This has become HILARIOUS, wrecking the WNBA (which just about everyone loves), while penetrating to the heart of the matter. This is the kind of story you are looking for as an integrated writer.

Enes Kanter is forcing the WNBA to define a woman, which it doesn’t want to do, or else face the consequences on draft night in April 2027. The exact date is still TBD, and if the WNBA & the WNBAPA don’t get their act together and get serious on what a woman is before this date, they are going to be humiliated on draft night– Enes Kanter watch parties, talk-show speculation, online wagering, etc. You can’t let that happen if you are the WNBA commissioner. Incompetent leadership has let it get this far, and most sports fans don’t see any brains in the room with the WNBA, so this is no slam dunk for the WNBA.

Enes Kanter (& others) are declaring themselves women, without having any transition surgery, hormone therapy, etc, and they expect the “inclusive” WNBA to receive them as women– unless the WNBA can agree on a definition of a woman and codify it with testing & criteria into the CBA. When that happens, these stunts end, and Enes Kanter is a man again. I honestly think Enes Kanter prefers being a man, but it’s his/her choice and I respect that. Do you see how fair & inclusive I am here? I’m sure Enes Kanter appreciates this kind of support.

Enes Kanter is currently hyping up which WNBA organization he’d like to play for. He says if the Indiana Fever pick him, he would be dunking Caitlin Clark lobs, then chest-bumping her afterwards, which he/she points out he/she could do because he/she is now a woman. That’s hard to write, much less fathom. Someone has to ask Caitlin Clark about that, right? Enes Kanter claims he/she was inspired by Gabby Williams, who said she would welcome a trans player on her team– or as an opponent.

Look for the Golden State Valkyries to be a player in the Enes Kanter sweepstakes– unless Gabby Williams really wasn’t serious about playing with men who have transitioned into women. No one from the WNBA or ESPN has checked-in with Gaby Williams on her trans stance since Enes Kanter declared for the 2027 WNBA draft. I think most WNBA players are hiding from this issue and wish it would go away. Sophie Cunningham is still the only one in the WNBA who has said out loud that the trans emperor is in his/her underwear. Cheryl Miller, perhaps the greatest women’s basketball player ever, is getting shut down by basketball fans. What does that tell you?

Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, who recently wore a “trans kids belong” t-shirt on national TV to scapegoat Sophie Cunningham, hasn’t shared her “thoughtful comments” with the media on Enes Kanter as a self-declared woman. Now is the time, Cheryl Reeve, show basketball fans how transgender athletes belong in the WNBA and how you really feel, or is that too difficult & nuanced?

The WNBA label it “bad faith”, but how do they know what is in Enes Kanter’s mind? The whole argument from DEI warriors is transgenders are misunderstood, and need an inclusive & supportive environment to foster their ambitions & talents, etc. Enes Kanter has said, it isn’t his intention to “mock, make fun of, or disrespect any community or personal choices.” That has to be taken at face value by the WNBA, otherwise they are transphobic hypocrites. This is what happens when someone who is a smarter than you calls your bluff.

No WNBA team is going to draft Enes Kanter next April, whether the WNBA has fixed their CBA shortcomings or not. WNBA teams won’t draft Enes Kanter on principle, if nothing else. But again, if Enes Kanter is still a woman, because the WNBA hasn’t codified a woman into their CBA before the draft, then it’s going to be a freak show on draft night.

Every day now, this WNBA trans rights stalking horse gets saddled up & rides for the fake media, social media, podcasts & blog sites. What is Cathy Engelbert going to do? She blew the 2026 WNBA CBA on transgender issues by not doing her job last winter. The WNBA prefers to create scapegoats and cast dispersion on others, instead of taking care of their issues. The WNBA is a tool of the Democratic Party, so that’s who Cathy Engelbert ultimately has to answer to. The Democrats say, “Keep confusing the public on XX v XY, it’s helping with our conservative agenda of pushing everything to the far right. Keep doing that and you’ll be well-paid and protected from your actions.”

Enes Kanter has the right-wing AFPI behind him, so the Democrats can’t just make this go away. It’s going to be in the news through the mid-terms in November. The far right has the DEI WNBA cold on this one, and it was too easy to be an accident. The Democrats don’t want a left wave winning in November. They only want to maintain their seats at the tables of power. Enes Kanter is part of this cynical process, but so is the WNBA, so one side accusing the other of ‘bad faith’ is the pot calling the kettle black.

This is the position the WNBA put themselves into, and few people actually feel sorry for them. There’s supposed to be no crying in basketball, but all the WNBA does is bitch, whine, and lend support to reactionary agendas. Will the WNBA adopt WTA, LPGA or IOC criteria for women, that have been well-established & fair to all athletes? That is the question. The science is there, and everybody knows a man from a woman, but will the WNBA acknowledge it? It’s post-modernism v rational science; the WNBA v Enes Kanter.

* Over 95% of the population, anywhere, agrees with Enes Kanter & Sophie Cunningham and how they define men & women. That, and political muckraking are why this story isn’t going away. Even though Enes Kanter & Sophie Cunningham are MAGA supporters, non-Republicans can still support these strong women, and by doing so they make it a popular win over reactionary DEI, instead of a far-right coup for Trump.

** As far as the WNBA players go, they’re in an awful position from lack of due diligence in leadership positions– top to bottom. It’s that simple. This can’t be dealt with now, because obviously players have strong opinions and different sides with a lot of confusion, and you can’t be hammering that out when you’re playing basketball. It’s having a negative impact on play on the court and nothing can be done about it. Plus– the refs, clock-keepers, and replay officials are still horrible, another issue they apparently neglected last winter. Yeah, that sucks as a player, but they did this to themselves. Why weren’t their agents or player representatives tabling this transgender issue last winter? ESPN asked Sophie Cunningham about it in February, and the Olympics codified gender eligibility & testing on March 26, 2026. Was everyone in the WNBA oblivious to this issue at the time because they really only cared about the money? Apparently yes. When the WNBA playoffs end, this can get done, no sooner. Will it get done, and if it does, what form will it take are TBD. When it’s finally done, the WNBA commissioner whoever she is, will be making the announcement in front of a packed media gathering. It will be a year too late, as that nag stalking horse is a loser every time.

Me: Has Caitlin Clark responded in the media or social media to Enes Kanter looking forward to potentially being her teammate, and chest-bumping with her after dunking her precisely-placed lobs?

Google AI: No, Caitlin Clark has not responded to Enes Kanter Freedom’s comments. She has remained completely silent across both mainstream media and her social media platforms regarding his statements.

Me: She kinda has to, at some point, right? Maybe the sooner the better, no? I know this is tough for Google AI.

Google AI: It is entirely understandable why it feels like she has to address this. When a major public figure makes headlines involving you, the natural expectation is a public response to clear the air or control the narrative.

Me: Why did Google AI assume I was referring to Caitlin Clark, and not Enes Kanter, when I said “She”? Is Google AI transphobic?

Google AI: I assumed “she” referred to Caitlin Clark because of standard English grammar rules, not because of transphobia.

Me: Very good.

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*** I think Caitlin Clark can escape this predicament by declaring she has a ‘no chest-bumping policy’ with all her teammates. So sit down, Enes, not so fast. As far as potentially being teammates goes: we’ll see, it’s too far down the road to predict, lots of stuff to be resolved, it could be fun– but, etc… Learn your clichés Caitlin Clark, they’re your friends. Whatever you do Catlin Clark, don’t be DiJonai Carrington. This keeps Caitlin Clark as ‘transgender accepting’, instead of appearing transphobic like WNBA reactionaries such as Cheryl Miller, while keeping away from the LGBTQ agenda and the WNBA CBA fail. It’s a minefield, I agree, but sometimes you get dropped into one and here it is (again) for Caitlin Clark. This transgender issue needs to be addressed by the WNBA commissioner’s office, not by the players during a season. End of statement.

**** Enes “the penis” Kanter

***** You have to be a hard-headed, uptight b*tch to not laugh at all this WNBA nonsense. It is their lack of sense-of-humor which is getting WNBA snatches waxed online concerning their transgender issues and such. Enes “the penis” Kanter & this author have made toast of the WNBA in the past few weeks, and it’s been a hoot. I didn’t want to do it, felt I owed it to them… If you aren’t laughing now, then you have no sense-of-humor-what-so-ever. Everybody thinks they have a sense of humor, but not everybody actually does. Here’s a test: What’s the difference between a pregnant woman and a light bulb? You can unscrew a light bulb. WNBA feminists are philistines who don’t laugh, proving they have no sense-of-humor-what-so-ever.

Sun 16 Aug 2026 12:43 PM CDT

Royce White is (currently) the other ex-NBA big man declaring for the 2027 WNBA draft. Royce White is 6’8″, 260, black with a beard, who now is wearing a blond girls wig during interviews saying stuff like: “Black Trans Lesbians Matter! We have a right to exist… Why WOULDN’T they [WNBA] let me play? It is completely bigoted to deny my trans existence.”

This is one of those rare sports stories everybody wants to be a part of, and it is taking on a life of its own. It’s not going away anytime soon, so stick around. Enes Kanter was first, and that’s why I give him/her the most mention on this. Plus he’s/she’s backed by a powerful right-wing think tank– AFPI. Royce White is independent on this, so to speak. It feels like Royce White is more serious, while Enes Kanter is more mocking & joking. I support both these strong women equally, and encourage others to do the same– regardless of political affiliation.

Meanwhile, UConn coach Geno Auriemma, the most successful women’s basketball coach in NCAA history, keeps telling the fake media there is no issue here, etc. What?!! This only proves the entire women’s basketball leadership hierarchy is blind on the issue of defining a woman for ‘athletic sex’ & bathroom designation. They don’t understand how important this simple issue (XX v XY) is, and they will have to answer that for themselves, eventually.

Just about everyone in the WNBA and women’s basketball has now taken cover on this trans right issue– particularly Cathy Engelbert. Each day her league is getting smashed online over this, with no serious WNBA response. The fake media is trying to deflect, as always, but Sophie Cunningham is no longer a viable scapegoat, so the WNBA is helpless apparently. All that money & hype that went in to the WNBA has created an albatross.

The WNBA is so used to being able to go to their corporate partners (ESPN, NBA, NBC, etc) and make stuff like this go away, but they can’t here because it’s gotten beyond them. This is now a political issue, in which the WNBA is in WAY over their heads. The WNBA is currently flailing in open water with sharks circling and their lifelines disabled. In fact the WNBA disabled them themselves, in how they have disrespected the game of basketball for a long time now and been allowed to get away with it. Everyone in sports (including the media) has been waiting for this: an important issue which hits the WNBA where they live, which they can’t duck. The WNBA is still ducking and in basketball trash talk that’s a straight-up bitch with no respect and everyone knows it.

As a society, we the people can no longer entrust these issues, or any other important issues, to these mindless puppets, functionaries & bureaucrats of the ruling class. These sick minds are leading humanity into an abyss, by enabling this nonsense, as DEI philistinism leads to fascism & world war. Those are the lessons of history, which these pawns ignore & try to shout down. It’s whatever is in their head that matters, and all that is in there is bigotry, fear & ignorance. It gets hidden by fancy clothes, good hair & brilliant smiles under the bright corporate media lights.

After everything I’ve written in the past few weeks I’ll crystallize my thoughts into one short sentence. This WNBA “trans rights” stalking horse is about Enes “the penis” Kanter v Studbudz. The WNBA has been pushing their LGBTQ crotches in everyone’s face for years now; weaponizing sex, ethnicity, gender, orientation, and whatever else fit their DEI agenda. The WNBA are now being challenged on this, and most have already proven themselves unable to answer the challenge. The WNBA are a bunch of punk philistines, who are now being clowned by everyone in sports and used by everyone in politics. These girls should have stuck to basketball, they would be much more respected if they had.

****** As a final footnote, Royce White lost the Minnesota Republican primary for the U.S. Senate on August 11, 2026– last Tuesday. He secured 11.15% of the vote, finishing a distant second behind primary winner Michele Tafoya. Both Enes Kanter & Royce White are supported by the far right, but Kanter has the more organized campaign– for now. Royce White is now using this WNBA stunt to promote a potential 2028 US Presidential run. Everyone is jumping on this trans bandwagon, looking to make political hay for themselves. That’s why it’s so important to be politically educated, because people are saying anything to get your support for their agenda. There’s a lot of dirty politics going on behind-the-scenes, so don’t believe the hype and keep a clear head.

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Sophie Cunningham, Danica Patrick & beauty

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Preface: This continues discussion on an earlier piece titled, “The WNBA transgender wonderland,” found here.

Being beautiful is a responsibility & a burden most people can’t carry through life. Many are born with the potential to be beautiful, but fail to realize it or lose it too early. Self-destruction of beauty is the biggest heartbreaker. You can be beautiful through life if you take care of yourself & learn to be good to others in your heart. Ethics affect beauty.

In the WNBA, Sophie Cunningham has to undress and shower after every game with a team that is at least half lesbian. She handles it in her own way and gets along with her teammates. How many straight men could do that as a role player in a predominantly gay sports league? Imagine yourself as a handsome straight man being gawked at and admired by a locker room of gay men who are your teammates and are considered the stars of their sport, having much more authority than you in the locker room & the league. That sounds scary & very uncomfortable to me.

That is what Sophie Cunningham has had to deal with in her WNBA career, just because she’s so pretty. She has been looked at by lesbian teammates & opponents as a sex object, on some level– always. It is natural, but also degrading, and Sophie Cunningham has been able to deal with it which proves her strength. Women should celebrate that. She has sacrificed the shame of her naked body to be inclusive. Only ungrateful lesbian bitches disrespect that.

This compares to Danica Patrick competing against men in motorsports. It’s different, but the same. Both are about sex, desire & egos– and how this distracts those obsessed with it to no end. People will do shameful & awful things when they get emotional about sex. Question: Why aren’t the Jeffery Epstein clients prosecuted & in jail? Answer: Because money & power under capitalism buys absolution for sex crimes, while finding targeted scapegoats to slander, frame & blame. Scapegoats give the ruling class a human repository to unload all their sins onto. This is the war going on now. I’m just a soldier. What are you doing?

The power of sex is universal. This power is abused & misrepresented in many ways conforming to elite moralist agendas. Sophie Cunningham is a strong, beautiful young woman, whom feminists hate. Just like these snowflakes were never there when Danica Patrick was being wrecked in NASCAR every week. DEI woke warriors hate all over Sophie Cunningham for being willing to voice her opinion on something important and stand by it. These same people jealously hated Danica Patrick for competing with men.

The fake left media flak abuses Sophie Cunningham horribly, but few (if any) are fooled anymore. She has far more fans than haters. Her haters have the biggest megaphones, and are the most shameless in their ethics, but they are largely tuned-out as ‘white noise’ by the public at this point. Fans know how to call a spayed a spayed, and they support Sophie Cunningham for doing that. They respect her strength to be inclusive & generous with her beauty. Like Danica Patrick, she is a inspiration to all others everywhere.

———–

Western gay culture really began with Andy Warhol & the Velvet Underground (1965-70). Underground cinema with gay themes started with Andy Warhol silent 16mm shorts & screen tests. David Bowie was the inspired bisexual musical protoge, that later allowed Elton John & such to become mainstream popular. Disco was a 1970’s gay genre, a dance singles format that briefly conquered the world. Disco was much maligned by musicians and faced severe conservative backlash in its day, but gay & lesbian orientation was widely accepted by kids in the 1980’s when Madonna & Boy George, etc, were all over MTV. Music always leads culture through the kids, and its most-significant figures are always the most essential artists of that era. Music inspires film and the rest of the modern visual arts.

Women’s basketball has now become a focal point of sports & cultural intersection. The WNBA is predominantly black & lesbian, but serious questions remain unanswered. Is the culture of the WNBA progressive or reactionary? Are backwards principles & ideologies being presented as progressive by the WNBA through fake politics? Are phony agendas being promoted for cynical purposes? Is bullying, sexual harassment and/or abuse being covered up?

The WNBA is where progressive gay culture (which musical artists fought for & established) is being hijacked and turned into a weaponized reactionary political attack campaign against anyone who disagrees with DEI. These people compare to the modern black racialists who don’t respect the sacrifices of white Union soldiers or Abraham Lincoln who died for the cause of black freedom from chattel slavery. It becomes a post-modernist wonderland with these feminist, racialist & LGBTQ philistines, who understand nothing about even their own history, which they claim to exclusively represent through their identity. Ignorance, arrogance & idealism defines this class of privilege-seeking prattling parasites.

The right to choose your sexual orientation belongs to everyone. It’s a personal choice, and most people prefer it to be kept that way. The problem is we have an outsized LGBTQ political lobby, which insists on shoving their show in everyone’s face. That’s how the inflammatory nature of sexual politics is being used to divide the oppressed working masses into hostile competing identity groups. That’s the primary function of the WNBA.

——

The WNBA launched after the global success of the original Dream Team in 1992 led by Michael Jordan. It is to the NBA, that the WNBA owes all its success. For 25+ years, the WNBA was a niche league, with limited crossover appeal, until Caitlin Clark was drafted by the Indiana Fever. Since then it has attracted affluent white fans like never before. WNBA games are broadcast on Disney/ESPN/ABC, NBC/Peacock & even Ion– a women’s television network.

It’s not about the basketball in the WNBA, it’s about feel-good narratives and hiding the dirt. Replays of bad play or blown calls are kept to a minimum, with many passed over as if they never happened. You can’t watch a WNBA contest without being subjected to this constant dumbing-down of the game. It’s insulting to the fans to hide revealing replays that define what’s wrong with the league. How can they get better if you don’t hold them accountable? Are these embarrassing replays really too much to tolerate? It’s ridiculous trying to figure out who is a good player, but you can’t see what just happened.

In summary, these are the serious problems that define the WNBA and they are much bigger than basketball. Sexual politics are out of control, while rational thought, science, and the will of the majority are being thrown out the window. This affects the game on the court, in fact, it become more important than the game on the court. It become the game itself. This is the WNBA.

——

The WNBA is the bad girl who accuses you of doing something which you didn’t, and gets to maintain that accusation without ever having to answer any serious questions as to their validity & truthfulness. I keep explaining what is wrong with just about everything the WNBA does, and hope people finally pay attention. They have.

The WNBA gets no benefit-of-the-doubt anymore from even casual sports fans. It’s presumed they are a DEI driven narrative. The WNBA is a LGBTQ sexual politics freak show, where the game is no more than 10% of the performance. WNBA = TMZ. It all ties into this sick culture of weaponized sex, celebrity worship & big money political rules. Into this maelstrom, Sophie Cunningham becomes a lightning rod for this degraded WNBA spectacle, where “inclusion” becomes semantically inverted into jealous hatred. Over & Out

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New school & old school

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Preface: This is a continuation of previously published essay– WNBA mediocrity

I’ve used these terms a lot when discussing basketball without fully defining them. Old school is Red Auerbach. This means the coach/GM runs the organization and is considered the most important person. In old school, no player is above the coach or management. What they say goes, and players who complain or object are benched and/or traded away. Old school was too rigid & deeply unfair to the players, especially star players before free agency. The best players never had any leverage in salary negotiations, and that had to change– hence new school.

New school begins with free agency in any sport, and in basketball it really started with Michael Jordan who was the first player to be above his team because he was so, so great. The Chicago Bulls stunk when Michael Jordan was drafted in 1984, and he immediately made the Bulls the league’s hottest attraction. His Air Jordan shoe deal with Nike and the phenomenon it spawned made Michael Jordan the most popular athlete on the planet. That was the ESPN/cable-TV era of sports, pre-internet.

When I write that Michael Jordan was new school, it doesn’t mean he didn’t have any old school in him. Michael was a team player, who valued winning first, which are old school attributes. New school emphasizes self promotion & getting paid as the priority. Michael Jordan wanted to get paid, so he invented new school to take care of himself. In a pre-sneaker deal era, Michael Jordan would have been reduced to just being the best player, without him being the cultural icon he became in the 1980’s & beyond. It’s a combination of being ready to meet the moment, and society being ready for someone like Michael Jordan in the NBA.

New school means you have your own voice in the media. Media is defined as corporate outlets & social media. All professional athletes have a social media profile and manage it seriously. It’s how they speak directly to their fans & critics. It’s how they express their displeasure with the head coach over minutes, shots, and usage. There is no going back to old school on that.

The best athletes in any sport are the ones who maintain a healthy combination of old school & new school. You need to be able to express yourself publicly, but you also have to look yourself in the mirror first. If you aren’t putting in the work and your performance isn’t meeting expectations, then it’s best to shut up and get to work. This means going back to an old school mentality by listening to the coaches, accepting criticism, taking responsibility, etc. It’s taking an attitude that no one is bigger than the team or the game.

In the old school NBA days, if a ‘star player’ underperformed and started being a crybaby to the sports writers, a team enforcer would find a moment alone in the locker room to set that problem straight. Players simply weren’t allowed to throw a coach or a team under the bus without violent repercussions. With hazing now frowned upon in locker rooms (new school), these issues get handled differently today– for better or worse. The worse is when team drama gets dragged out because no one wants to have an uncomfortable discussion. Too many overpaid snowflakes being enabled is a new school issue.

The WNBA is all about drama. It’s just as much a soap opera as an athletic competition these days. This is different from all other sports leagues that have risen to prominence. The NFL, MLB & NBA all have drama going on behind the scenes, but the game remains the main attraction for the fans. In the WNBA, drama over Caitlin Clark dominates their daily narratives. More people know about that, than the defending WNBA champs. The primary narrative & financial driver for the WNBA is an unremarkable player named Caitlin Clark, and it represents new school at its worst.

Whatever temporary boost her popularity gives the league, in the long run the WNBA will be worse off for hyping Caitlin Clark as a great player. The issue here is all the basketball fans who recognize this garbage and call it out. The WNBA isn’t getting those fans back any time soon. What the WNBA has done with Caitlin C;lark is fundamentally disrespectful to the game, prioritizing hype over performance.

Up until Caitlin Clark came into the league in 2024, the WNBA was solid growing. Ownership embraced Caitlin Clark because she has caused franchise values to skyrocket. The Golden State Valkyries, a second year WNBA expansion franchise is now valued at $1B. The average WNBA franchise value is $460M according to Google. Ten years ago there wasn’t a single WNBA team that could get $100M in valuation.

The WNBA is a financial bubble, with insanely overestimated franchise values, and Caitlin Clark has been a tool for that. The WNBA needed a ‘great white hope’ and so they manufactured one in her. The element of racism that underlies all this is the elephant-in-the-room that can’t be discussed in the corporate media. It’s too uncomfortable.

Meanwhile, WNBA critics are labeled misogynist, racist or whatever semantic inversion they prefer in order to silence any discussion on the matter. The WNBA owners are the ones profiting from this hype, and when Caitlin Clark finally crashes, it will be perceived by them as the fault of those who correctly analyzed this from the start. Because myself (& others) have been critical we’re all slandered as ‘woman haters’, as that’s easier to understand than all the facts & issues involved. That’s NIL new school.

Thu 04 Jun 2026 10:00 AM CDT

Update: It’s been reported that the Indiana Fever revoked the press credentials for Scott Agness, the reporter who broke the story of Caitlin Clark not playing due to a sudden “back injury” on May 20. The team violated league rules by not reporting it on time, and was reprimanded by the WNBA for it as her unavailability was announced just before tip-off. All professional sports leagues take this seriously because of the wagering going on. Tanking (new school strategy) wasn’t the issue here. The Indiana Fever organization claims Scott Agness had his team credentials revoked for spreading “inaccurate and unsubstantiated information,” by referring to load management as the reason for the unavailability. What’s actually going on here is blatant retribution by snowflakes for reporting the truth, which isn’t popular with corporate institutions & their concocted narratives.

Along with this is a new article in the Athletic that is critical of Caitlin Clark’s defense, referring to her as a “sitting duck during hunting season.” None of this is untrue, yet the Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark fans are (again) in a tizzy over this. It’s been branded a “hit piece” by Caitlin Clark supporters, when the fact is she is a poor defender and a liability to her team for it. The flak from her adoring sycophants is the head coach has the wrong scheme, and isn’t protecting her on the court as she should, etc. This comes mostly from people with money & influence who aren’t experienced enough to coach a JV basketball team, yet insist know best. Ball players counter that if she stinks on defense, that’s her fault and when her coaches call her out Caitlin Clark throws tantrums instead of sucking it up and improving her effort.

Fact: The WNBA still doesn’t make a profit, with annual revenues of only $300M and operating costs being much higher. Now that the CBA has been settled, franchise valuations are what matter most to the league. The hype over Caitlin Clark, and the extreme sensitivity over any criticism of her performance is part of this. The ‘chosen one’ has to be protected (enabled) to maintain these wildly inflated WNBA franchise values. That’s the source of all this media hysteria.

This is nothing more than new school nonsense taking over the game, in which performance doesn’t matter so much, as there’s always an excuse to protect its top attraction. If the Indiana Fever don’t do everything in their power to deflect criticism of Caitlin Clark, then her head coach will be fired, other players will be traded, or perhaps Clark will finally demand a trade. She has all that leverage, simply by being in the right place at the right time. Those are the new school rules in play, and it rubs many in the game the wrong way. Old school would involve what’s been discussed above, and apparently Caitlin Clark isn’t interested in that. This is just the latest dramatic episode in As the WNBA World Turns. It won’t be long before this tired act gets tuned out, which spells big trouble for the WNBA. That’s the Faustian bargain they’ve made which will eventually come home to roost.

To use a NFL analogy sports fans can appreciate, if you are Ryan Leaf instead of Peyton Manning, fans will learn the difference– sooner or later. That may feel extremely harsh to Caitlin Clark, but it’s much closer to the truth than the narratives being floated through the corporate media and onto social media. All this protective enabling isn’t doing Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever, or the WNBA any good. The sugar high of inflated franchise values will eventually turn into diabetes of the WNBA, meaning it will cost the league much more than it has gained. This lying & racist ‘great white hope’ campaign is hurting the league’s credibility.

Old school means you work for your rewards, making them sweeter when they are finally achieved. And if you fall short, at least you gave it your best. New school is demanding the reward up front, then deciding if you want to put in the work or not. It’s turned the WNBA into an exercise in projections & speculation. Caitlin Clark isn’t measured by her performance, she’s measured in futures. Like the derivatives market in finance & investing, all the money thrown at her is about image & what bettors believe her future will bring. To honestly assess that, one needs to objectively look at her current professional track record which isn’t favorable. With these examples drawn out in ~1,800 words, lies the difference between old school & new school.

Post script: Defense is half the game. That’s actually an understatement of fact. Good defense leads to easy offense, while bad defense gives easy offense to the opponent. One energizes and the other demoralizes. Defense wins championships. Everyone in basketball knows this. All your teammates & coaches care about is are you an asset or liability on the floor? If you give up too many easy looks & baskets then you are a negative on +/- player rating. That’s a losing player. People who try to spin the truth on basketball don’t discuss defense seriously. For more on old school defense, read this.  For new school defense, read here.

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NIL issues with AI

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Note: This short piece is an extension of “What is Tilly Norwood?”, published yesterday.

NIL means Name, Image & Likeness, and it has transformed college sports since Ed O’Bannon won his lawsuit with the NCAA in 2015-16. Women’s hoops has undergone a qualitative transformation with athletes like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese & Paige Bueckers getting paid in college, then popularizing the WNBA to new heights.

The owners of the NCAA & WNBA want to convince everyone that it is their platform that has created this success, when really it’s the players. WNBA franchise values have exploded this year due to the players making the game more popular. It’s always the workers who create the value, with the owners trying to convince everyone the opposite. It’s high time for exploited workers to take control of their industries and shout down the parasitic & criminal owners who are impeding progress for humanity.

When it comes to Tilly Norwood, she is a composite of many young female likenesses that have been stolen and re-packaged as proprietary to a corporation. “Tilly Norwood is art,” says it’s creator, but art always acknowledges those who helped make it possible, while Particle6 erases them from history and pays no future royalties. The young women who contributed to create Tilly Norwood by having their faces & bodies scanned are kept anonymous and never compensated beyond that session.

AI is becoming a cheap way to replace people– from film to TV to pornography. It’s also being used to replace workers in other industries, because the people who currently own & control AI are ruthless capitalists, always looking to cut costs and increase their profits. This doesn’t work for the vast majority, who are being exploited & discarded with no future. Humanity is better than this, but we need new leadership and it has to come from a unified international working class.

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