Every conservative knows the ironclad rule of wokeness: Those who profess tolerance work the hardest to suppress dissenting voices.

While we cannot prove that woke intolerance explains the WNBA’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’s own, seems plausible.

Last week on the social media platform X, Outkick posted a 98-second clip of Gaines describing why, in her view, the WNBA’s explanation of its decision to deny Outkick media credentials for a June 6 game featuring veteran center Brittney Griner of the Atlanta Dream qualifies as “total baloney.”

Gaines spent the first half of the clip laying out the background to the controversy.

In short, the prominent conservative asked a question about Griner that probably made woke WNBA types uncomfortable.

On May 22, during an 81-76 loss to the Indiana Fever and superstar point guard Caitlin Clark, Griner reacted angrily to a foul call.

Then, while sitting on the bench, the Dream center undeniably yelled an expletive followed by two words.

Some on social media, including Gaines, noted that it appeared Griner said “f***ing white girl.” For more than a year, the popularity of Clark, who is white, has seemingly rubbed some of the league’s black players the wrong way.

Whatever Griner said or did not say, Gaines and others certainly had a right to ask.

After all, on May 17, when the insufferable Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky — Clark’s perceived rival since their college days — made a sweeping accusation of racism against Fever fans, the WNBA investigated and, as one would expect, found nothing to substantiate the charge.

Gaines described all of this during the first half of the clip.

Then, the former University of Kentucky swimmer and courageous women’s sports advocate explained what happened when Outkick tried covering the Dream’s June 6 game against the Connecticut Sun.

“To which — shocker — they denied us,” Gaines said.

“We’ve never had trouble getting media credentials with any professional sports league in the past,” she added. “But wouldn’t you know, now they suddenly have ‘very limited space.'”

Indeed, according to Fox News, the Sun organization sent Outkick an email denying said credentials.

“Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate your request for a media credential for Connecticut Sun vs. Atlanta Dream on Friday, June 6,” the email read. “Due to very limited space, priority is given to those that are associated with outlets that have consistently covered the organization for previous seasons.”

Gaines called that explanation “total baloney.”

“They just want to suppress any sort of uncomfortable inquiries from media,” she added.

The WNBA refuses to grant OutKick media credentials after raising questions about what Brittney Griner really said @Riley_Gaines_ pic.twitter.com/RDwP8sRNJH

— OutKick (@Outkick) June 6, 2025

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 “f***ing white girl,” then so be it. Let the controversy die.

By denying Outkick credentials, however, the WNBA showed once again that, in woke minds, only some racism accusations matter. From their perspective, therefore, it is best to silence the uncomfortable ones.

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