As the WNBA continues to grow in popularity, its players are quickly learning that it’s not all rainbows and unicorns. The Chicago Sky were brought to tears on Thursday night while discussing the rollercoaster season and the hate they received from their own fans.
Chicago will not play postseason basketball in 2024.
A blowout loss to Connecticut put the final nail in the coffin and promptly eliminated the Sky from the playoffs for the first time in six years. They will return to the floor next in 2025.
Dana Evans and Isabelle Harrison spoke to the press following the season-ending loss. They offered a first-hand account of a year unlike any other. In doing so, the latter was brought to tears.
https://t.co/onA6gSm0Ku pic.twitter.com/WxeUjWRNyP
— The Sky Show CHI (@TheSkyShowCHI) September 20, 2024
Evans began the discussion by strongly expressing her disapproval of WNBA fan behavior in 2024.
When you got people that’s steady bashing you, that’s supposed to be our supporters, I feel like that’s a slap in the face.
— Dana Evans
Harrison chimed in to say that it was “disgusting.” She continued on to say, with tears in her eyes, that she has never experienced such large amounts of hate and harassment in her career.
To go an just want to play basketball every day, and you have people constantly — and if it’s online it’s online — but like, you now get tagged it and I’m constantly having to block people. And just people making up narratives about you, it’s hurtful.
— Isabelle Harrison
While there is no room for hate or harassment in any aspect of life, the increase in such nasty behavior stems from increased viewership and interest in the WNBA. With every new fan also comes a new hater. Even if it is unfortunate, it is part of the deal. Harrison would prefer that it is not, which is fair. But it is.
Look at any professional sports league in the country, or even around the world— they are all the same. People are often unkind online. Negative comments are scientifically proven to stick with your psyche more often and longer than a positive comment. It sucks!
The difference is that other professional (and amateur) athletes have learned to ignore the haters. They don’t look at the replies. They turn off their notifications or stay off of social media all together because they know the discourse is irrelevant.
Bigotry and racism should never fly, but it is the unfortunate reality that comes with social media and anonymity. The players in Chicago should take a similar approach to many of their professional counterparts and ignore it instead of putting the fans on blast like they did on Thursday night.
I appreciate the new eyes, but if it comes with hate and bigotry and racism… even people that look like me, bashing me… you can keep it offline because it’s so hurtful and you don’t know how it effects people.
— Isabelle Harrison
And as Harrison noted, a lot of the comments directed toward the Sky are from its own fanbase.
Chicago lost 14 more games than it won for a winning percentage of just .325. To be critical of a team that finished 19 games back in the eastern conference and seven games under .500 is entirely fair.
Evans does not seem to grasp that her team’s performance warrants disapproval.
If you’re going to support the Sky, support the Sky. I feel like that was a big issue, like, it messes with your mental.
— Dana Evans
Both players placed a lot of blame for their poor play on the negative discourse that surrounded a bad team. Harrison actually claimed that she did not play as well as she should have because she was thinking about what strangers said on the internet. That can’t happen.
There was just so many times where that was a factor and it shouldn’t’ve been.
— Isabelle Harrison
To their credit, Isabelle Harrison and Dana Evans are self-aware. They learned a lot from this season. They are stronger mentally because of the condemnation.
And this is not to say that they are not correct! Hatred, racism and disrespect should not be tolerated.
However, to take such a strong stance as a victim on a team that went 13-27 reflects a clear disconnect.