WNBA provides united voice, up-tempo style
If you haven't watched a WNBA game recently, you might be surprised to catch up with the action in the wubble — the nickname for the WNBA's isolated atmosphere during the pandemic — based in Bradenton, Fla.
Playing an abbreviated 22-game season at IMG Academy, the professional league was one of the first in the U.S. to return to play. All of the league's 12 teams are playing without fans in the same facility through Sept. 12. Playoffs will follow.
The wubble is working so far. The WNBA has had zero positive tests for COVID-19 since the league's startup quarantine ended July 10, the league announced Friday.
Being one of the first leagues back in business paid off. ESPN highlighted the WNBA on its opening weekend by airing every game on its main networks. The four-game opening weekend averaged 401,000 viewers, the network said, up 63 percent from its 2019 average viewership for the season. It also had the most-watched WNBA opener since 2012 when the Los Angeles Sparks defeated the Phoenix Mercury.
After announcing those statistics, ESPN added 13 more WNBA games to its national television schedule. At least 77 WNBA games will be aired on national television.
The WNBA's support of the Black Lives Matter movement has emerged as the strongest, sustained effort by a professional league this year. Players are wearing jerseys with the names of Breonna Taylor and other black female victims of violence. Players are supporting her foundation through T-shirts. The #sayhername campaign has joined forces with the league. Team social media accounts and players provide a united front. ESPN's Holly Rowe is relentless in her sideline coverage of both the basketball and the social justice movement.
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