The WNBA, basking in the glow of unprecedented growth, surging ratings, and fresh energy, has been abruptly plunged into a maelstrom of controversy following an unexpected and deeply troubling segment from ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith. His casual, yet profoundly impactful, on-air mention of Brittney Griner’s “Russia DNA test” has unleashed a torrent of speculation, outrage, and accusations across social media, threatening to derail the league’s hard-won progress and cast a shadow over its most promising era yet. This isn’t just another hot take; it’s a full-blown crisis that has left fans, players, and insiders scrambling for answers, while the WNBA commissioner’s silence only amplifies the chaos.

Brittney Griner, a towering figure both on and off the court, has already endured a harrowing ordeal, becoming the center of global headlines due to her arrest and subsequent release from Russia. Just as she was attempting to rebuild her career and refocus on the game she loves, Smith’s comments have dragged her back into the very type of public scrutiny that has long plagued her personal life. The video highlights how this new twist has ignited a “full-blown storm,” with people “losing their minds” and the WNBA commissioner reportedly “fuming” [01:02]. This isn’t merely a PR mess; it’s a deeply personal attack that reopens old wounds for Griner, who has openly shared her struggles with her identity and appearance for years.

The timing of this controversy could not be worse for the WNBA. The league has been on an upward trajectory, celebrating skyrocketing ratings, increased fan engagement, and the excitement of its first new team since 2008, the Golden State Valkyries [03:28]. Conversations were finally shifting from struggling attendance to packed arenas, viral highlights, and a palpable sense of momentum. Sponsors were lining up, networks were paying attention, and it genuinely felt like women’s basketball was breaking through. Yet, “one reckless rumor and the silence around it might be all it takes to throw that progress off balance” [04:32]. Instead of celebrating these milestones, the internet is now consumed with gossip about Griner’s body and a baseless DNA test rumor, handed to the world on a “silver platter” by Stephen A. Smith [12:31].

At the heart of this renewed onslaught is a deeply insensitive and long-standing public fixation on Brittney Griner’s physical characteristics, particularly her height and deep voice. The video details how a random courtside clip of Griner having a casual conversation went viral, with millions of views and countless reposts simply because of “how deep her voice sounds” [06:39]. While anyone who has followed Griner’s career knows this is not new information—she has publicly spoken about her voice since her teenage years [07:10]—to the casual observer, it was shocking. This immediately fueled “brutal” comments and baseless conspiracy theories, with trolls online using her natural voice as “supposed proof to fuel the same baseless conspiracy Stephen A had just reignited on live TV” [07:47]. Phrases like “That’s a dude” and “Never once thought otherwise” flooded comment sections, reducing a celebrated athlete to a target of cruel speculation.

The narrative quickly escalated as “internet detectives” dug up an old, infamous shirtless pool video of Griner, dragging it back into the public discourse [08:33]. This private moment, once again turned into public gossip, diverts attention from her athletic prowess to her physical form, perpetuating an exhausting cycle of judgment and dehumanization. As the video passionately states, “The league’s biggest win is getting buried under its biggest scandal, and the timing couldn’t be worse” [06:26].

What makes this situation particularly harsh is the personal history Brittney Griner has bravely shared. She has openly discussed her struggles with her body and voice since childhood. In a 2015 ESPN feature, she spoke candidly about how her voice was always deeper than other girls her age, leading to brutal teasing and bullying, with kids mocking her for sounding like a boy [09:39]. In her 2024 memoir, Coming Home, she further laid bare the pain of growing up in a body “the world never let her just exist in,” being mocked for her height, chest, and voice even before high school [10:48]. For Stephen A. Smith to “casually threw out that DNA comment,” he wasn’t just stirring drama; he was “reopening the same wound Brittney’s been talking about for years in her own words” [11:34]. This act is not just messy; it is profoundly “personal” and “cruel,” twisting her shared pain into “clickbait again right when she’s trying to rebuild her career and focus on the game” [11:52].

The WNBA Commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, is now under immense pressure to respond. As the “face of the league” [11:52], Engelbert has championed 2025 as the WNBA’s breakout year, promising a new era of equality, exposure, and credibility for women’s basketball. All the work to build momentum now risks being “gone in one viral moment” [12:23]. Instead of celebrating success, the league finds itself in damage control mode, with headlines dominated by “gossip about Brittney Griner’s body and a baseless DNA test rumor” [12:31]. The video emphasizes that “silence right now that’s not strength. It’s surrender” [12:51]. The expectation is clear: the league must step up, speak out, and unequivocally denounce the harmful rhetoric that continues to target one of its most prominent athletes. Failure to do so would not only be an abandonment of Griner but a profound betrayal of the league’s stated values and its commitment to fostering an inclusive and respectful environment. The WNBA’s “bright new era could end up being remembered for the one controversy Kathy Engelbert prayed would never come back” [13:05].