WNBA fans were furious on Friday night as the league did not broadcast Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso’s league debuts with a preseason game for the Chicago Sky against the Minnesota Lynx.
Instead the WNBA’s website had a link to broadcast Caitlin Clark’s league debut for the Indiana Fever against the Dallas Wings.
That forced fans to find live streams of fans at the game to see Reese and Cardoso’s first professional action.
One such stream on X reached a peak of around 260,000 viewers and lasted nearly two hours.
Fans voiced their frustrations on social media with the decisions of the WNBA, blaming the league for being unprepared to show both contests.
Reese scored 13 points in her WNBA debut for the Chicago Sky against the Minnesota Lynx
Caitlin Clark was prominently featured for her professional debut with the Indiana Fever
‘The WNBA is wild embarrassing. To not have Angel Reese and (Kamilla Cardoso) games on the league pass is insane. Angel Reese is one of the reasons why women’s basketball is getting so much attention but they made sure to put the white girl front and center, I’m tired of them,’ one fan said on X.
‘Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese are making their professional debuts in preseason and not one person thought it would be smart to broadcast it somewhere?!?!?! Further (Teresa Weatherspoon) is making her head coaching debut and still no one in power thought it would be smart?!?!’ another WNBA fan said on social media.
‘The WNBA was not prepared for this moment in the slightest and it’s kind of embarrassing considering they aren’t a start up they’ve been around for 20+years. Makes ya wonder what else they’ve screwed up over the years. That being said as a hoop fan I hope they figure it out soon bc people are dying for the WNBA to have a moment but as usual they are their own worst enemy,’ a fan said on X.
‘The @WNBA doing Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso so wrong. The league is 80% Black women, why aren’t they showing two of the most prolific young women to be drafted?! Whiteness got yall in a chokehold. Fire whoever is making these asinine decisions,’ another WNBA supporter stated on X.
A collection of social-media messages from WNBA fans upset with nowhere to watch Reese
The WNBA is entering an unprecedented era for its league with plenty of young marketable stars coming in at once, with Clark holding the lion’s share of those eyeballs coming from the college game.
Having her game streamed on the WNBA website’s homepage was deserved, but it left those wanting to watch Lynx-Sky with nowhere to go.
The reason for not streaming Chicago-Minnesota is unclear and the league has yet to comment on it.
The Lynx defeated the Sky 92-81, with Reese starting and scoring 13 points and Cardoso adding six points off the bench.
