To say that 2024 was a game-changing year for women’s sports was an understatement.
As much as it was a game-changing year, it was also one where the realm of women’s sports – particularly the WNBA – was taken on an emotional rollercoaster.
The final days of the old year allowed us an opportunity to reflect on the 12 months that were in women’s sports (both good and bad) – and what the 12 months following those could resemble.
We at Beyond The W pen one of these pieces at the start of every year. So, why break that part of tradition in 2025. Here are five things we would love to see in women’s sports this calendar year.
Ending a Tired Narrative
The 2024 WNBA season was riveting, exciting and unforgettable in a variety of ways. Unfortunately, it was also exhausting for many of us and had to be exhausting for many players.
Why? Because newbies to the W’s media sphere came in with one agenda. That agenda was to drive a wedge between the rest of the league and Caitlin Clark.
Many media members even tried to drive a false narrative that the attention Clark had brought to the WNBA was making established players jealous of her.
Clark not only put to rest that narrative when she spoke recently with Time Magazine that named her 2024’s Athlete of the Year. She burned it to a crisp.
Many a WNBA baller is accomplished in their own rights and they were never jealous of Clark. Instead, the WNBA has welcomed Clark into its exclusive sisterhood. Perhaps that is a story that ought to be told given it is the truth – but one cannot generate clicks and views with the truth we think.
Doing Actual Research
While we identify problems within the WNBA ecosystem here at Beyond The W, we also are adept at coming to solutions.
In terms of putting to rest these tired narratives about how the rest of the WNBA is out to “get” Clark, perhaps doing actual research on the league, teams, coaches, executives and players can go a long way in improving WNBA discourse.
Many of these same new media individuals had no problems making that discourse extremely toxic last season. Let us leave that toxicity in 2024. After all, it is what Clark herself would want if any of these individuals would actually bother to read that Time Magazine interview.
Instead – focus on these stories. What will we see out of the New York Liberty a year after it finally won its first-ever WNBA championship. Will 2025 be a resurgent year for the Las Vegas Aces? The WNBA is welcoming a new team into the fold for the first time since 2008 when the Atlanta Dream joined the ranks. That new team is the Golden State Valkyries. Will Paige Bueckers fare as well in her first season in the W as Clark and Angel Reese did last year?
What about the new coaches? These include Tyler Marsh with the Chicago Sky, Stephanie White at the Indiana Fever and Karl Smesko with the Dream. Let us not forget about the 44-game season and the seven-game Finals.
There is a lot to focus on without having to manufacture storylines.
Cross Over
Since we first launched in 2014, we at Beyond The W have covered our WNBA women not only as basketball players – but as human beings off the court with various off-court interests.
Other outlets are starting to catch on.
Look at all of the appearances Reese made throughout 2024 – including at the Met Gala. Look at how many times Clark was booked to appear at events. Think about how A’ja Wilson last year had a New York Times bestselling read with “Dear Black Girls.”
A positive effect of the continued growth of the WNBA is seeing these women evolve from simply basketball players into cultural icons. This means more chances for WNBA players to land big-money endorsements and for these women to continue to evolve into household names even outside of the realm of basketball.
Standing Firm
As we wrote in our “Roadmap to Resistance” piece shortly after the fateful election of 2024, women’s sports can certainly be a bulwark in the face of an administration that is certainly antagonistic to the idea of women even playing sports.
The women’s sports space also has an extremely progressive fanbase. We know that many women’s athletes – including those within the WNBA – have no problems standing up for what they believe in.
For the next four years, we will be looking to anyone to stand up as leaders. Without a doubt, women’s sports – particularly the white athletes who claim to be allies – will certainly need to stand up especially when it is the rights of transgender athletes that are under attack.
More Ellie 🐘
Just…because. More Ellie is always a great thing.
