Did Kelsey Plum Imply WNBA Referees Treat White Players Differently Than Black Players?

There's a clear narrative emerging in the WNBA that black players receive preferential treatment over white players. WNBA star Kelsey Plum added fuel to the fire with her comments following the Los Angeles Sparks' overtime loss to the Golden State Valkyries on Monday night.

A clearly frustrated Plum attacked the league's referees following the game, saying that the calls she didn't receive were "f***ing absurd." 

"I've got scratches on my face, I've got scratches on my body and these guards on the other team get these ticky-tack fouls, and I'm sick of it," Plum began. "I don't know what else to do. It's really frustrating." 

WNBA star Kelsey Plum went off on referees following Monday's game and the guard seemed to imply that officials favor black players over white players.

(Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

Plum noted that she was awarded only six free throws despite playing 40 minutes and going into the paint "almost every play." 

"They're fouling the sh*t out of me every single play," Plum continued. "I talk to the refs nice, I pray before the game, f**k I'm over it." 

Plum didn't say it had anything to do with her skin color, and it's unlikely any WNBA media member will ask her to clarify, but it's not hard to see why some people believe that was her implication. Of course, OutKick can't ask her about her comments because the WNBA appears to have "blackballed" us from covering games. 

We reached out to the league for comment on Plum's comments but, as usual, did not receive a response. 

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Recently, the WNBA has come under fire for jumping to investigate a false racism accusation against the Indiana Fever fans towards Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, but doing nothing when Brittney Griner appeared to have said "f***ing white girls" after fouling out against the Fever one week later. 

Maybe Griner said that, maybe she didn't. But it was at least worth an investigation, given that a social media rumor was enough to get the WNBA to investigate a false racism accusation against Fever supporters. That highlighted what appears to be a double-standard for black players, who are protected at every turn, and white players. 

Fever star Caitlin Clark has been fouled, hard, many times in her career and the referees and league don't seem to take any action. Plum's comments seem to support the idea that white players don't get the same calls that black players do. 

The league that says it has "no tolerance for hate" might need to clarify that position. What they actually mean, apparently, is that the league has "no tolerance for hate towards black players but an abundance of tolerance for hate towards white players." 

For a league that prides itself on being anti-racist, they sure are sending a lot of racist messages to their white players.