ESPN Analyst Vows To 'Do Better' After Spewing False Allegations About Racist WNBA Fans
Chiney Ogwumike is putting her hand up after making a mistake.
Former WNBA player Chiney Ogwumike was among the many, many people to blindly run with the allegations involving Indiana Fever fans making disrespectful and racist comments towards Angel Reese and other Chicago Sky players during the Fever's win over the Sky on May 17.
The difference between Ogwumike and others pushing the allegations is that she is a member of the media and is seen across ESPN's lineup of programs covering both the NBA and WNBA.
The WNBA formally launched an investigation into the alleged matter involving Fever fans, Reese, and Chicago players on May 18. With the investigation still ongoing two days later, Ogwumike went all-in on believing and spewing what turned out to be completely false allegations.
"Players and coaches of the Chicago Sky have said that they heard things that were out of bounds coming from the fans in Indiana during the game. And that caused the WNBA to launch an investigation into the matter," Ogwumike said on ‘The Chiney Show’ on May 20.
In a social media post promoting the episode, Ogwumike wrote, "We can’t thrive in a wnba where the fanbase is bad. love that the w has begun to take well-needed measures to protect the players and the space."
She was all-in on the allegations that fans were racist towards Reese and Sky players, and appears to be the only analyst out there to mention that members of Chicago had heard disrespectful things during the game.
Fast-forward to May 27, and the WNBA concluded that the information and allegations were "not substained." It was all completely bogus and simply drummed up by random people on social media. The WNBA launching an investigation based on virtually nothing was laughable, as was Ogwumike's pushing of a false narrative.
To her credit, she apologized for her comments about the situation and false allegations.
"If you know me, you know I'm not afraid to say I can do better. I am sorry that my message was in the heat of the moment, because when I initially spoke on the topic, it really came from a place of care," Ogwumike said in a video posted to X. "It was based on first-hand conversations with people very close to the situation who raised real concerns, and they told me what they had experienced."
Those "people" close to the situation either lied or simply do not exist, but either way, that notion puts Ogwumike in a bad spot.
"I felt like it was important and it was necessary to acknowledge those allegations, and also voice those experiences. Now, in the process, however, I totally recognize that it may have impacted fans in a way that I did not intend. And for that, I am sorry," she continued.
This brings up even more of an issue for Ogwumike. She didn't just "acknowledge" the allegations, she pushed them as truth, literally writing "we can’t thrive in a wnba where the fanbase is bad."
At the end of the day, we can't expect too much when it comes to anything involving the WNBA, a league that refuses to get out of its own way.