Earlier this week, Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray posted a screenshot of a message containing a racial slur directed at her by an individual. The person who allegedly sent the message to Gray has since been fired by Hilton Grand Vacations, the establishment where he’d been supposedly working.
In response to this development, sports journalist Jemele Hill posted a one-word reaction.
“Welp.”
While Hill had a tone of sarcasm in her reaction, the circumstances surrounding the message sent to Gray sounded quite serious. In an Instagram story, the Aces court general revealed that an individual had sent her a message containing a slur after Las Vegas lost 109-75 to the Indiana Fever on Sunday.
Gray wrote in the caption that she was disappointed in the “audacity” of some detractors to tell athletes like her to “shut up and dribble.” In all likelihood, this is a reference to an infamous remark made by Fox News host Laura Ingraham. Back in February 2018, Ingraham urged LeBron James to “shut up and dribble” after the four-time NBA champion criticized Donald Trump.
Racially motivated attacks have been a hot topic in the WNBA community in recent weeks. In the wake of her physical altercation with Caitlin Clark in a June 24 game, Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas publicly stated that she was on the receiving end of death threats and racial slurs.
Meanwhile, in a letter sent to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert last week, 11 House Republicans asked the league to address “repeated attacks” against Caitlin Clark that might be “racially motivated.”
Chelsea Gray Extends Appreciation to Netizens Who Supported Her Amidst Racial Slur Fiasco
Though Chelsea Gray was evidently upset by the message with the racial slur, the Aces star has since shared that she received an outpouring of support from netizens.
In an Instagram story on Tuesday, Gray extended her appreciation to her supporters.
“Appreciate all the messages, posts, emails, etc. Even if I don’t reply to all of them, know that I thank you!”
Amidst off-court adversity, Gray’s duties with the Aces continue as the defending WNBA champions look to secure the No. 1 spot in the standings.
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