THE PR NIGHTMARE: STEPHEN A. SMITH’S RECKLESS RUMOR ABOUT BRITTNEY GRINER’S ‘RUSSIA DNA TEST’ DRAGS THE WNBA INTO A CATASTROPHIC CRISIS OF CREDIBILITY
The WNBA is facing a crisis it desperately hoped to avoid. Just as the league was soaring on the wings of historic growth, a reckless rumor—casually dropped on live television—has sent the entire organization spiraling into a devastating PR nightmare.
This isn’t just another sports debate; it’s a deeply personal attack on one of the league’s most visible stars, Brittney Griner, that threatens to dismantle the WNBA’s hard-won credibility and derail its highly anticipated “breakout year.”
The crisis point was reached when Stephen A. Smith, the voice that never stays quiet, randomly mentioned Griner’s name on ESPN, hinting at an entirely unfounded “Russia DNA test” rumor. The comment immediately reignited the ugliest conspiracy theory in women’s sports—a baseless, hateful narrative about Griner’s gender—and fueled a nasty online feeding frenzy of misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia.
The Personal Pain Weaponized
The most cruel aspect of this scandal is that it weaponizes Griner’s deepest personal pain. For years, Griner has been remarkably open and vulnerable about her physical identity, but her truth is being twisted into clickbait.
- The Voice: A recent courtside clip of Griner’s naturally deep voice went viral across TikTok and X. While fans who follow her career know this is her normal speaking voice, the casual crowd reacted with shock. The comments instantly turned vicious, with trolls using her voice as “supposed proof” to fuel the baseless conspiracy.
- The Memoir: Griner laid bare her trauma in her memoir, Coming Home, and in a 2015 ESPN feature, detailing what it was like growing up different. She wrote about being teased relentlessly since middle school for her height, her physique, and her voice, saying that kids mocked her because she sounded like a grown man. She admitted the pain made her feel “isolated” and that sometimes, “a part of you dies every day with every mean comment and lingering stare.”
- The Scrutiny: Every time Griner’s name trends, online trolls drag out an infamous, years-old shirtless pool photo, shifting the spotlight from her extraordinary game back onto her body.
This constant public harassment is not just online noise; it is a profound and cruel intrusion into a wound Griner has carried since her teenage years. For her pain to be reopened and weaponized for clicks, right as she attempts to rebuild her life after enduring 10 months in a Moscow prison, is unconscionable.
The WNBA’s Crisis of Silence
The timing of this scandal couldn’t be worse. 2025 was set to be the WNBA’s landmark year. The league had just celebrated a staggering ratings increase, viral moments starring Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese were dominating headlines, and the league announced its first new team since 2008, the Golden State Valkyrie.
But instead of celebrating this momentum, the conversation has been hijacked.
The problem now lies squarely with the league’s leadership. Commissioner Kathy Engelbert is under intense pressure because the WNBA’s current strategy appears to be one of avoidance—hoping the noise fades away. However, that silence is being interpreted not as strength, but as “surrender” to the trolls and bigots.
If the head of the league cannot publicly and immediately shut down a conspiracy theory that has zero proof and is demonstrably false, it sends a devastating message to every fan, sponsor, and player who supports the league’s message of equality and empowerment. Sponsors who were just lining up for the WNBA’s success are now confronted with a PR nightmare, as the league’s biggest win is getting buried under its biggest scandal.
The Cost of Credibility
The heart of the matter is credibility. Fans want to invest in a league where the outcome is genuine and the players are respected. When the league remains silent in the face of blatant misogyny and homophobia, it implies tacit acceptance of the vitriol.
Griner’s fans and advocates are now demanding a response, realizing that silence is fueling more questions than answers. They are asking: Is months in a Moscow prison not enough payment for the right to simply exist without being targeted by baseless conspiracy theories?
The contrast is stark: the WNBA has worked tirelessly to build a brand around courage, equality, and breaking barriers, yet it now risks being defined by a failure to defend one of its own against a cruel, baseless attack.
The league has a choice to make. It can continue to hide behind damage control, hoping the storm passes, and risk permanently alienating the very mainstream audience it has worked so hard to attract. Or, it can use the full weight of its platform to defend Brittney Griner, denounce the hatred, and prove that the WNBA’s commitment to equality is more than just a corporate slogan.
If the league fails to act now, its “breakout year” will be remembered not for its progress, but for the one crisis it prayed would never come back.
