How the Media Turned the WNBA Into a Culture War (ft. Kate Riga)

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Kate Riga (0:25)

It's so much like the anti-abortion movement, particularly in that they have found just like the most successful wedge points to be about either minors, children or protecting women, right? We've seen that exact same playbook run with the anti-trans stuff, whether it be how can minors transitioning and parental consent and that whole thing, or now, this is what the NBA grifters keep saying, like, I'm just here to protect women, you know, like, while they get in fights with players during games, right? It's all in the name of that same grift.

Christine Grimaldi (1:03)

I don't think that the W has realized yet that rewarding this doesn't make it go away. It only enables it. It only makes it worse.

Katelyn Burns (1:12)

Christine, I'm too tired to think of a bit.

Christine Grimaldi (1:14)

Oh, no, Kate.

Katelyn Burns (1:16)

So why don't we just get into it? Who are we canceling today?

Christine Grimaldi (1:19)

Sophie Cunningham.

Katelyn Burns (1:21)

The bench player for the Indiana Fever who doesn't do anything except three-pointers.

Christine Grimaldi (1:26)

Look, see, you were covered well. We have a bit, ladies and gentle folks.

Katelyn Burns (1:33)

Ladies and gentle thems.

Christine Grimaldi (1:35)

I like gentle thems.

Katelyn Burns (1:36)

Yeah. Hey, everyone, I'm Katelyn Burns.

Christine Grimaldi (1:40)

And I'm Christine Grimaldi.

Katelyn Burns (1:42)

And you're listening to Cancel Me, Daddy.

Christine Grimaldi (1:45)

The show where we take a closer look at all the panic around political media.

Katelyn Burns (1:49)

With thoughtful analysis.

Christine Grimaldi (1:51)

And verbal shitposting.

Katelyn Burns (1:54)

Christine, we decided to upgrade this from a bonus episode to a full episode because this WNBA transphobia panic is not going away.

Christine Grimaldi (2:06)

No, it's actually spiraled more since we released the bonus episode. It's almost like we know what we're talking about and we can see things when they're coming.

Katelyn Burns (2:16)

How many times have we had a bonus episode that just gets so much worse and we have to come back and do a main episode about it?

Christine Grimaldi (2:24)

Oh, well, I was going to say the White House Correspondents Dinner.

Katelyn Burns (2:27)

Oh, yeah.

Christine Grimaldi (2:28)

Oh my god.

Katelyn Burns (2:30)

Well, if you want to know what the news is going to be in a couple weeks, you should subscribe to our Patreon, patreon.com/cancel Me, Daddy. You can get Cancel Me, Daddy every week or you can also access it through an Apple membership. So we have a great episode for you today. We have Talking Points Memo reporter, Kate Riga, who has written about this several times and is a season ticket holder with the Washington Mystics WNBA team herself. And we get into all of that with her right now.

Kate Riga, welcome to Cancel Me, Daddy.

Kate Riga (3:10)

Thanks so much for having me.

Katelyn Burns (3:12)

So I understand that you are not only an amazing reporter, but also a WNBA season ticket holder. Is that true?

Kate Riga (3:20)

What? That's true. This is my fourth or fifth year of being a ticket holder for the Mystics.

Katelyn Burns (3:27)

The DC team.

Kate Riga (3:29)

That's right.

Katelyn Burns (3:31)

Before we get into the issue we want to talk about, like, what has it been like being a reporter who also has a dream of the game watching this transphobic scandal break out across the league?

Kate Riga (3:45)

It's like, on one hand, it's a dream that I get to write about it, you know? A topic that usually I just hold people captive while I kind of do my speeches about. But then on the other, you know, can I curse?

Katelyn Burns (4:03)

Yes, absolutely.

Kate Riga (4:05)

It fucking sucks, you know, because the W has been just like such a big part of my life, because it's such a unique space, you know, where everyone really is welcomed and the players are so, you know, active in the social justice space, and especially during, you know, Trump Mark II, and while, you know, he's like erecting monuments to himself in DC and tearing down, you know, the Kennedy Center or Haynes Point. Like, it's just been a nice thing to have, which of course is like why the right can't let it go uninfiltrated or untouched, you know.