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Jason Whitlock suggests WNBA ‘starting to go more feminine … likable’ and what that means for Brittney Griner

May 4, 2024 | | Print Article

Suspecting a marketing shift from the WNBA, BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock spelled out what he believed that “intentionally” meant for Brittney Griner.

“The WNBA is starting to go more feminine and they’re trying to go more likable.”

Even after the professional women’s basketball player was detained and convicted for smuggling drugs into Russia, leading to President Joe Biden orchestrating a prisoner exchange for the athlete with a notorious arms dealer, Griner was hardly a household name.

Now, after NCAA players like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese transitioned to professional careers, and the WNBA sought a ratings spike in the process, the host of “Fearless with Jason Whitlock” suggested recent remarks from Griner may actually be an effort to remain relevant as femininity made a comeback.

“She was, in my view, very anti-American before sitting in a Russian prison for eight months and maybe that’s the conversion all these hard-core leftists need,” he argued to guest Shemeka Michelle. “But, I’m telling you, I don’t buy it, Shemeka. I think she’s trying to reposition herself. The WNBA is starting to go more feminine and they’re trying to go more likable.”

“I’ve even seen — a buddy of mine sent me pictures yesterday of some LA Sparks players at, I think an NBA game, and it looked like a beauty contest,” he added.

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“So, I think they’re intentionally going, ‘we don’t want the best players, we want as many feminine-looking players,’ and it’s the right call, I’m telling you,” Whitlock continued. “Because none of the ladies play such an exciting game of basketball, beyond two or three of ’em, that getting someone who looks feminine is better for marketing and for selling tickets than getting someone who might play 10, 15 percent better…And so I see the WNBA pivoting away from Britney Griner. And this book and this interview tour is about trying to make Brittney Griner likable, because she’s been very unlikable.”

Griner recently sat down with ABC News’ Robin Roberts ahead of the release of her book, “Coming Home” where she detailed her arrest and time in a Russian prison along with reiterating her renewed favor toward her rights as an American citizen.

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As had been previously reported, the WNBA player who, like many of her colleagues, had shown disfavor toward the anthem as part of the Black Lives Matter movement, had remarked, “Hearing the national anthem, it definitely hit different. It’s like when you go for the Olympics, you’re sitting there, about to get gold put on your neck, the flags are going up, and the anthem is playing, it just hits different.”

Griner’s pivot also coincided with a leftist narrative, with President Joe Biden at the top, attempting to argue for increased wages for the WNBA players before any appreciable uptick in support for the league.

Kevin Haggerty
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