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00:00Off-court drama continues to win the day in the W, unfortunately, for the product.
00:06As we shared on Monday morning, following the season opener in Indianapolis
00:10between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky,
00:13a hard foul by Caitlin Clark on Angel Reese late in the third quarter
00:17that led to many an online commentary.
00:21And then after the game and revealed on Sunday,
00:23the WNBA investigating hateful speech directed at Angel Reese
00:27and the Chicago Sky in the crowd in Game Bridge Fieldhouse.
00:32Not reported during the game, not spoken about in post-game press conferences
00:35by Chicago, its organization, its coach, or its players,
00:39but really the investigation based on social media comments
00:43following the game in Indy on Saturday afternoon.
00:47The WNBA is currently investigating.
00:49Both the Sky and the Fever have said there is no place for hate in this game.
00:53Goes without saying, but sadly, must be reinforced in both organizations
00:59cooperating with the WNBA.
01:02We heard from the Chicago Sky yesterday at practice as they get ready
01:05for their second game of the year tomorrow night at home,
01:08their home debut in the Windy City against the reigning champs in the New York Liberty.
01:13Here's Chicago's head coach, Tyler Marsh, asked about that investigation from the W.
01:18Yeah, I think we agree.
01:19I think we're, you know, in compliance with them, with the league,
01:23and obviously there's no room or space in our game for hate,
01:27and so we're complying with everything that's been going on.
01:30Coach, when did you come up with any of those things?
01:32What's that happened?
01:34I think when everyone else did.
01:36I think that, you know, it's something that, you know, we heard about,
01:41and so, you know, again, we're just forthcoming with anything
01:44that the league is able to do investigation-wise.
01:47I'm not so sure in the quality of that audio.
01:50If you heard the reporter's question to Tyler Marsh, Chicago head sky there,
01:54when did you become aware of the hate speech directed at your team and your players?
02:00And Tyler Marsh says, we became aware when everybody else did,
02:04which would certainly allude to the idea they also saw it on social media.
02:09That's when they heard about it, not during the game or leaving the arena.
02:13The reason this is so hurtful to the league and the WNBA as a whole and its players
02:20is because it becomes almost like a boy who cried wolf or sheep or whatever that statement is.
02:28Because when you forego the idea of honesty and transparency,
02:32it actively hurts the investigation.
02:35It hurts the Chicago sky.
02:38It hurts the Indiana fever.
02:39It hurts the product for the WNBA.
02:42And it gives truth, even if there is a lack of evidence to the idea of hateful speech being directed at Chicago.
02:50That is the issue.
02:52Angel Reese, by the way, at that practice media scrum yesterday,
02:56was asked specifically about what she heard, what she has told the WNBA in its investigation.
03:02She did not cite any specific examples.
03:05And Chicago Sky PR was quick to say, we're not talking about this.
03:09She has already been asked and answered this question.
03:12Again, it does not feel like there is a true transparent investigation playing out.
03:17And what really should be highlighted is the excellent WNBA product,
03:22the game of basketball itself.
03:24Sometimes, sadly, in the WNBA,
03:26it feels as though the commentary on commentary on the actual game of basketball is front and center
03:33and not the competitive nature of the great games that we are seeing with the stars excelling in this moment.