Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum says she needs she may take again the joke that grew to become one of many largest speaking factors from final month’s WNBA All-Star Sport.
Talking with former WNBA star Sue Chook on the “Chook’s Eye View” podcast, Plum referred to as her postgame remarks about Workforce Caitlin Clark lacking a gamers’ assembly earlier than the showcase in Indianapolis “a very dangerous joke.”
The WNBA All-Star Second
On July 19, All-Stars took the ground in warmups emblazoned with the message “Pay Us What You Owe Us” — a coordinated assertion from the gamers’ union as collective bargaining negotiations with the league intensify.
Plum, a member of Napheesa Collier’s profitable squad, quipped in a press convention that “zero members of Workforce Clark had been very current” for the pregame assembly.
Sitting beside Sabrina Ionescu, who laughed and responded, “That basically wanted to be talked about,” Plum leaned additional into the sarcasm: “I’m making an attempt to make the scenario gentle, OK?”
As a substitute, the feedback lit up social media. Followers interpreted the “tattletale” comment as a swipe at Clark and her crew, shifting the main focus from solidarity across the shirts to perceived friction amongst All-Stars.
Kelsey Plum Clarifies Her Remark
On Chook’s podcast, Plum stated she underestimated the load of the second.
“I ought to have identified it was a far more critical second than a typical All-Star Sport,” Plum stated. “As a result of I went into that press convention very, like, happy-go-lucky we gained, you recognize?”
She defined that her crew’s joking nickname was “Hungover,” and her feedback had been meant to rib her personal group for exhibiting up regardless of it.
“Clearly, we’re all on the identical web page. All of us wore the shirts. Like, we’re all unified,” Plum stated. “And I believe, if something, I used to be simply extra discouraged as a result of I felt prefer it took away from the second of what we had been making an attempt to do.”
Chook identified that gamers’ phrases are sometimes “twisted” as soon as amplified on-line. Plum agreed, saying responding solely makes gamers seem defensive.
“You simply must let it go,” Plum stated.
Why It Issues
The shirts underscored the WNBPA’s push for higher pay and advantages within the upcoming collective bargaining talks. Any notion of disunity — even in jest — risked undermining that message.
Plum, a veteran voice and former All-Star MVP, acknowledged that lesson. Clark’s star energy additional amplified the response, together with her absence from the sport as a result of damage already drawing consideration.
In the long run, Plum says the intent was innocent, however the timing and optics risked higher implications.
