WNBA players are not here for your Twitter criticisms

The internet is a dark hole, a mindless time-filler, a magical place, and somewhere in between for all its users. For athletes, it’s predominantly the former — a place for fans to open fire on anyone they please, firing vicious words into the direct mentions of whoever they want. While fans can stay anonymous and hide behind fake pictures and names, athletes can’t, and flumes of negativity pour into their phone notifications all day long.

For female athletes, the internet’s a whole other form of ugly. The world’s resistance in treating women as anything but equal is clearly reflected in social media, whether it be in Twitter replies or Instagram comments. The conversation online drifts anywhere from the character and physical appearance of female athletes, to the pay disparity they fight every single day.

Luckily the WNBA is stacked with athletes unafraid to speak their minds. They’ve had enough, and their messages are spot-on.

The fixes won’t come overnight, but the conversation can only help. And it doesn’t appear that the WNBA’s young talents will slow down on that effort.