Hour 3: Craig and Big Mac Debate WNBA Politics and Enes Freedom's Stunt

**Craig Carton** (0:00)
Seems like all hell is breaking loose in the WNBA these days.
Right, a couple of NBA guys announced that they want to play with the Gals. And now there's, I guess, a big meeting happening or conference call happening amongst the team presidents, et cetera, and the commissioner of the league, where they are now actually gonna... I don't know why I find this funny, but I do. They're actually gonna try to redo the league's constitution and define what a woman is.
I mean... That's where we're at. That's where we're at. Which is amazing because the WNBA, which is a league that no one ever thought anything of, financially, ticket sales, attendance, it was an afterthought of this country, has now become a crazy reality show. It's not about basketball. It really, frankly, never has, because the basketball is not very good. They're very good. The women that play it, compared to all the women, are very good, obviously. Of course. They're phenomenal athletes. But now it's just become, it's like the Jersey Shore. If you think about it, where we're talking about a sport that very few of us have ever watched, have zero interest in, and you can't turn on television or read a podcast or a column these days without someone having to take it. No joke, I saw the headline this weekend, that they're going to try to define what a woman is. That's where we're at.

**Chris McMonigle** (1:29)
Yeah. I mean, it would help to define the rules. I don't know if they have to define what a woman is necessarily, but it would help to define what a woman is who's allowed to play in the WNBA.

**Craig Carton** (1:40)
Right, because right now there's no rules about like, estrogen levels or hormonal levels.

**Chris McMonigle** (1:45)
Yeah, there's got to be.

**Craig Carton** (1:46)
It says if you identify as a woman, you're eligible.

**Chris McMonigle** (1:48)
Right, which is why Enos Cantor is doing what he's doing.

**Craig Carton** (1:52)
It just, you know, it seems like to me...

**Chris McMonigle** (1:53)
Is there such a... Here's my quick question, though.
We're talking so much about them. Is there... But none of it's about basketball. Well, the old adage, though, is there's no such thing as bad publicity. Does this help the league in any way?

**SPEAKER_3** (2:05)
I think to a point it does.

**Craig Carton** (2:07)
I think there's a...

**Chris McMonigle** (2:08)
It's brought more attention to the league.

**Craig Carton** (2:09)
I think there's a watershed line where it goes from more interest, more eyeballs, to this is a joke and I'm not watching it at all because I have no interest in it. I think we're dangerously close if not already past that line. But what's crazy about it is I've never seen in my lifetime an organization, certainly in sports, that was handed the gift of all gifts in the form of Caitlin Clark and think about her what you want.
I never thought of women's basketball until she came around and we all had an interest in what she was doing. She was special. Not to say she's the greatest player of all time, but she for whatever reason resonated with the American public, right?

**Chris McMonigle** (2:50)
Unlike any other female basketball player I can remember.

**Craig Carton** (2:52)
And they were handed a gift. And they go out of their way to ruin the gift they were handed.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:58)
It is bizarre. I've never seen anything like it. No, you're right. All other leagues embrace whatever they can, right? And especially you want to talk about basketball. The NBA was floundering playing NBA final games and tape delay.
And then Magic and Bird came and that you did whatever you could to try and make sure that everyone was aware of Magic and Bird.

**SPEAKER_3** (3:19)
They protected this one.

**Craig Carton** (3:21)
This was crazy.

**Chris McMonigle** (3:22)
This is crazy. It is bizarre. Yeah. And every day there's something else. You're right. There's another story.

**Craig Carton** (3:27)
But it's never about basketball.

**Chris McMonigle** (3:28)
It's not. It's got political.

**Craig Carton** (3:30)
I still haven't watched the game this year. Right. And the few highlights I see, I have to say, because maybe it's my algorithm and I totally own that, is injuries missing 40 layups a game?

**Chris McMonigle** (3:43)
That's what I say. Sports have never been discussed more on MSNBC or Fox News. This is, it's become a political kind of, you know, lightning rod conversation. That's exactly what it is. That's exactly what it's become.

**Craig Carton** (3:59)
Yeah.

**Chris McMonigle** (3:59)
And it's, it's.

**Craig Carton** (4:00)