Sue Bird Urges WNBA Players To 'Defend' Their League

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Sue Bird Urges WNBA Players To 'Defend' Their League

Originally posted on The Spun | By Andrew Holleran | Last updated Aug 10, 2026 4:30 PM ET

Legendary WNBA star Sue Bird is urging the league's players to defend their league from outside forces.

Bird, one of the best guards in WNBA history, weighed in on the ongoing saga regarding women's basketball. From the league's treatment of Caitlin Clark, to Sophie Cunningham's comments on transgender athletes, to DiJonai Carrington's ejection, the WNBA has made all sorts of headlines in recent weeks.

The legendary WNBA guard, though, feels that outside forces and people are trying to use the WNBA's controversies to push their own agendas.

“I do think that there are people trying to leverage our league for their own personal gain… what I learned is you have tough conversations behind closed doors and strategize,” Bird said on NBC.

She added: "We fought for so many years, but in 2020 especially, to get to a point to where we were talking about the basketball. And somehow, now the basketball is being used against us."

There's a lot of truth to what Bird is saying. While some of these controversies are legitimate, Bird is right in saying that a lot of people currently talking about the WNBA don't actually care about women's basketball or female athletes. They just want attention - and they're getting it.

Cheryl Miller weighs in, too

Miller, the sister of NBA legend Reggie Miller, wants women's basketball players to fight together.

“More importantly, I wanna see that same leadership during the collective bargaining agreement and how they rallied around the brand, the WNBA, and that’s what I wanna see. I wanna see them do the same things that they did during that time and stand up for their brand. This is our brand, and not watch a bunch of outsiders hijack the league and our narrative,” Miller said.

Cheryl Miller & Sue Bird’s thoughts on DiJonai Carrington’s flagrant foul last night and the narratives being pushed: pic.twitter.com/9efyg8OqOo
— Kyle Ingram (@SnapshotKyle) August 9, 2026