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Brennan’s Book Excerpt Rekindles WNBA Player-Media Tensions

The CNN-published excerpt exposes league concern that WNBA players lack experience handling intense media scrutiny.

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Indiana Fever forward NaLyssa Smith looks on before Game 2 of the first round of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs between the Indiana Fever and the Connecticut Sun.
September 22, 2024: Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) handles the ball while defended by Connecticut Sun guard/forward DiJonai Carrington (21) during game 1 of the first round of the WNBA playoffs between the Indiana Fever and the Connecticut Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Erica Denhoff/CSM (Credit Image: © Erica Denhoff/Cal Sport Media) (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)
DiJonai Carrington #21 of the Connecticut Sun looks on during the game against the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Playoffs on September 22, 2024.

Overview

  • CNN published an excerpt from Christine Brennan’s forthcoming book recounting her Sept. 2024 exchanges with DiJonai Carrington and DeWanna Bonner over an eye-poke incident involving Caitlin Clark.
  • The WNBA Players Association had condemned Brennan’s line of questioning as a deliberate provocation that fueled racist, homophobic and misogynistic vitriol online.
  • An unnamed WNBA official defended Brennan’s questions as appropriate and criticized players for having little experience with rigorous media exposure.
  • DiJonai Carrington took to X this week to accuse Brennan of fabricating her ‘talking shit’ confrontation and describe it as ‘defamation of character’.
  • The renewed spotlight on these disputes underscores widening tensions in player-media relations as the league grapples with the fallout from Caitlin Clark’s high-profile arrival.