The WNBA has exploded in popularity since the arrival of young superstars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. The pair has helped propel the league to record numbers of television viewership and game attendance.
However, while the league has attracted a ton of new fans, it’s also brought in its fair share of hate, with many people even directing hateful messages at the sport’s young stars on social media.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama recently spoke on this hate.
“I think the tough thing is the social media element to it. But that’s true across the board. I mean, we’ve talked about this on our show; it just takes a normal occurrence. These young kids today, what they have to go through, what they have to be able to withstand, because social media is such a huge part of the world,” Obama said, according to Awful Announcing.
“There’s the hate. But now the hate is in your room, on your phone, with you all the time. And you can’t, for whatever reason, tell these kids to turn it off, because they’re making their living that way. I mean, now they are expected to stay engaged.
“So, I think that makes it feel even worse. But I think, as you point out, that’s happening in sports across gender. It’s just harder not to withstand other people’s horrible, horrible opinions.”
People were not exactly thrilled about what Obama had to say.
“Oh look, as usual she misconstrues the problem, blames outside influences and ignores personal responsibility and generally and nothing is valid to the conversation in any way,” one person wrote on Twitter.
“Stop talking,” someone else added.
“Let’s not hear from or about this loathsome person anymore,” another person added.
It’s worth noting that while Obama is no sports expert, she’s as entitled to her opinion as anyone else.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.