{"id":2447058,"date":"2025-06-13T13:47:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T17:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/is-the-wnba-blocking-riley-gaines-media-credentials-because-of-what-she-dared-ask-about-brittney-griner\/"},"modified":"2025-06-13T13:48:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T17:48:14","slug":"is-the-wnba-blocking-riley-gaines-media-credentials-because-of-what-she-dared-ask-about-brittney-griner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/is-the-wnba-blocking-riley-gaines-media-credentials-because-of-what-she-dared-ask-about-brittney-griner\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the WNBA Blocking Riley Gaines&#8217; Media Credentials Because of What She Dared Ask About Brittney Griner?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fis-the-wnba-blocking-riley-gaines-media-credentials-because-of-what-she-dared-ask-about-brittney-griner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2447058&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the WNBA&#8217;s decision to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >deny media credentials<\/a> to Riley Gaines from the conservative outlet Outkick, which has raised questions about potential bias against dissenting voices in sports media.Gaines shared her views in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-this-average-american-is-voting-for-donald-trump\/\" title=\"Why This Average American Is Voting for Donald Trump\">social media post<\/a>, criticizing the league&#8217;s clarification for denying credentials as implausible. She referenced an incident involving WNBA player Brittney Griner, who allegedly yelled an expletive directed at a white player during a game, and highlighted the challenge conservative media faces in covering the league. Gaines accused the WNBA of wanting to suppress uncomfortable inquiries and asserted that their actions demonstrate a selective approach to addressing accusations of racism. Ultimately, she called for openness and open discourse, arguing that journalists should be able to ask pertinent questions without facing barriers.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Every conservative knows the ironclad rule of wokeness: Those who profess tolerance work the hardest to suppress dissenting voices.<\/p>\n<p>While we cannot prove that woke intolerance explains the WNBA&rsquo;s decision to deny media credentials to Riley Gaines of the conservative sports outlet Outkick, we can say that no other explanation for that decision, including the league&rsquo;s own, seems plausible.<\/p>\n<p>Last week on the social media platform X, Outkick posted a 98-second clip of Gaines describing why, in her view, the WNBA&rsquo;s explanation of its decision to deny Outkick media credentials for a June 6 game featuring veteran center <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/wnba\/player\/_\/id\/2490553\/brittney-griner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Brittney Griner<\/a> of the Atlanta Dream qualifies as &ldquo;total baloney.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Gaines spent the first half of the clip laying out the background to the controversy.<\/p>\n<p>In short, the prominent conservative asked a question about Griner that probably made woke WNBA types uncomfortable.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=vizqo9x0\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>On May 22, during an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/wnba\/game\/_\/gameId\/401736126\/fever-dream\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">81-76 loss<\/a> to the Indiana Fever and superstar point guard Caitlin Clark, Griner reacted angrily to a foul call.<\/p>\n<p>Then, while sitting on the bench, the Dream center undeniably yelled an expletive followed by two words.<\/p>\n<p>Some on social media, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/britney-griner-caught-calling-caitlin-clark-racial-slur-camera\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gaines<\/a>, noted that it appeared Griner said &ldquo;f***ing white girl.&rdquo; For more than a year, the popularity of Clark, who is white, has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-analyst-says-caitlin-clark-hated-wnba-players-isnt-black-lesbian\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">seemingly<\/a> rubbed some of the league&rsquo;s black players the wrong way.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever Griner said or did not say, Gaines and others certainly had a right to ask.<\/p>\n<p>After all, on May 17, when the insufferable <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wnba-concludes-investigation-fan-racism-angel-reese-findings-exactly-expect\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Angel Reese<\/a> of the Chicago Sky &mdash; Clark&rsquo;s perceived rival since their college days &mdash; made a sweeping accusation of racism against Fever fans, the WNBA investigated and, as one would expect, found nothing to substantiate the charge.<\/p>\n<p>Gaines described all of this during the first half of the clip.<\/p>\n<p>Then, the former University of Kentucky swimmer and courageous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/simone-biles-apologizes-riley-gaines-responds-couple-things\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">women&rsquo;s sports advocate<\/a> explained what happened when Outkick tried covering the Dream&rsquo;s June 6 game against the Connecticut Sun.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;To which &mdash; shocker &mdash; they denied us,&rdquo; Gaines said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve never had trouble getting media credentials with any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-dana-white-shares-how-gavin-newsom-shut-down-ufc-restart-meant-for-california\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: Dana ... Shares How Gavin Newsom Shut Down UFC Restart Meant For California\">professional sports league<\/a> in the past,&rdquo; she added. &ldquo;But wouldn&rsquo;t you know, now they suddenly have &lsquo;very limited space.&#8217;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/riley-gaines-weighs-after-wnba-declines-outkicks-media-credential-request-atlanta-dream\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox News<\/a>, the Sun organization sent Outkick an  denying said credentials.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate your request for a media credential for Connecticut Sun vs. Atlanta Dream on Friday, June 6,&rdquo; the  read. &ldquo;Due to very limited space, priority is given to those that are associated with outlets that have consistently covered the organization for previous seasons.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Gaines called that explanation &ldquo;total baloney.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They just want to suppress any sort of uncomfortable inquiries from media,&rdquo; she added.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The WNBA refuses to grant OutKick media credentials after raising questions about what Brittney Griner really said <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Riley_Gaines_?\">@Riley_Gaines_<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RDwP8sRNJH\">pic.twitter.com\/RDwP8sRNJH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; OutKick (@Outkick) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Outkick\/status\/1931054949376708633?\">June 6, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In short, real journalists would ask Griner what she said on the bench on May 22. Or, more delicately, they might frame their question as giving Griner a chance to quell social media speculation. If she said something other than &ldquo;f***ing white girl,&rdquo; then so be it. Let the controversy die.<\/p>\n<p>By denying Outkick credentials, however, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-notorious-wnba-activist-forces-referee-call-security-post-game-tirade\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WNBA<\/a> showed once again that, in woke minds, only some racism accusations matter. From their perspective, therefore, it is best to silence the uncomfortable ones.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every conservative understands the unyielding principle of wokeness: those who claim to be tolerant often strive the most to silence opposing viewpoints. Although we cannot definitively prove that this woke intolerance is behind the WNBA&#8217;s choice to deny media credentials to Riley Gaines from the conservative outlet Outkick, no other rationale for that decision, including the league&#8217;s own explanation, appears credible. Recently, Outkick shared a 98-second video on X featuring Gaines discussing why she believes the WNBA&#8217;s reasoning for denying media access for a June 6 game involving veteran center Brittney Griner is &#8220;total baloney.&#8221; In the first half of her clip, Gaines provided context about the situation. Essentially, she posed a question regarding Griner that likely made some in the WNBA uncomfortable<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2447059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Grinder-v-Gaines.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[34926,57129,37041,33418,7188],"class_list":["post-2447058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-brittney-griner","tag-media-credentials","tag-riley-gaines","tag-sports-controversy","tag-wnba"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Grinder-v-Gaines.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2447058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2447058"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2447058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2447062,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2447058\/revisions\/2447062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2447059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2447058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2447058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2447058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}