The WNBA, and the whole ecosystem around it, has lost its ever-loving mind

In the last few days, the WNBA and much of its broader ecosystem — including the Players’ Association, the athletes themselves and even some of the media members who cover the league — have lost their ever-loving minds.It makes you wonder if the WNBA is really ready for primetime.This pile-up of absurdities started last weekwhen the Indiana Fever were eliminated from the playoffs by the Connecticut Sun, ending a spectacular record-breaking rookie season for Caitlin Clark.There’s still plenty of playoff basketball to talk about, and yet — the discourse has devolved, once again, into a struggle session.“I think that in my 11-year career I never experienced the racial comments like from the Indiana Fever fan base,” Sun forward Alyssa Thomas told press after Game 2.“It’s unacceptable and honestly there’s no place for it.

I’ve never been called the things that I’ve been called on social media..”Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky joined the pile on.Then Phoenix Mercury playerBrittney Griner said she didn’t “appreciate the new fans that sit there and yell racial slurs at myself, my teammates and the people that I play against” — though there’s been no report of such behavior at games.

Except Clark having a fan removed during Game 2 of the series.In response, the WNBA released an empty statement that basically said, “Don’t do racism.”Naturally, the media questioned Clark and her teammatesabout the unspecified bad behavior of their “fans.“ What do they have to say about Fever696969 writing mean bigoted tweets?“Those aren’t fans,” Clark said.

“Those are trolls.” (Never mind that Clark’s own race is constantly invoked by other players and journalists to explain away her popularity.)Meanwhile, Fever guard Erica Wheeler and head coach Christie Sides revealed a dose of reality: They, too, are the target of online abuse from faceless nobodies.The difference?“We just don’t care about it,” said Wheeler.

“Because wha...