The WNBA finds themselves in a bit of a gambling scandal.
At least that’s the way that the traditional doom and gloom national media wants to spin this.
On Wednesday night, the WNBA deleted a video where Atlanta Dream star Angel Reese and Dallas Wings star Paige Bueckers wagered $400 on an upcoming matchup. The video was deleted as this friendly wager clearly violates the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement’s rules against betting.
The WNBA released a statement, admitting the “controversial video” featuring Reese and Bueckers “missed the mark.”
Really? Missed the mark? Why? Because two star players found an engaging way to promote the game? Because Reese and Bueckers found an unconventional way to get people talking about women’s basketball – even if it was the result of a silly, $400 bet?
“Yeah I’ll be requesting my Apple Pay after this,” Reese said after the game, admitting that she placed a bet with Bueckers.
But absolutely nothing should come from this.
The fact that this is even considered to be controversial is laughable. Real, living and breathing human beings are furious – posting on social media that Reese and Bueckers should be banned from sports forever, ousted like Pete Rose, for betting with each other on a late-July matchup.
In golf, the legendary Phil Mickelson has been very open about his affinity for gambling, even though it’s banned during sanctioned rounds. Who was Mickelson betting with? The legendary Tiger Woods, who frequently engaged in highly competitive practice-round money matches, particularly earlier in his career.
Mickelson and Woods aren’t alone. Justin Thomas and Jordan Speith along with other members of their practice group (sometimes including Rickie Fowler) play high stakes closeouts on Tuesday and Wednesday practice rounds ahead of major championships.
Aren’t sports all about competition?
Reese and Bueckers just added additional stakes to a regular season matchup. Big whoop that $400 was on the line.
This is a completely different situation than when Cleveland Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase were intentionally spiking pitches to influence live prop bets. It’s different than Jontay Porter getting himself banned from basketball for manipulating his own props. This is two very well off young women that placed a small wager to add to the competition of a low-stakes basketball game.
The fact the WNBA even felt the need to take down this video was silly. Nothing nefarious happened. No sportsbook accounts were used. Just two young stars trying to generate a little bit of buzz for the WNBA.
