A Tale of Three Cities… and Two Countries

Share

Let’s talk politics.

I’ve been meaning to for a while. But it was hard to find the right time. Probably because it’s awkward. Much as I’ve championed the WNBA as an activist league – and will continue to do so – the Tempo and its people are in a bit of a precarious situation. In that only one player has inherent “permission” to talk about Canadian or municipal politics – and given that Kia is also a local sportscaster, I’m not expecting much, and fair enough. That said, it’s a bit of a bummer.

For the most part, sports are a distraction from what’s happening in the world, but we expect more from the W. It’s not a common ground for people who otherwise can’t find anything else to agree about. It’s an uncommon ground which largely weeds out the bad elements. It provides – for lack of a better term – a “safe space”, where simple decency can be expressed without fear of opposition.

But nothing is never that easy. There might be safer spaces, but there are no real safe spaces, especially with all those little dilemmas us common folk have to deal with all the time. And if I thought that Tempo games were a place where I could shut down that part of my brain, the last week-and-a-bit made me realize, “Not so much.”

I won’t say I saw everything this past stretch through a political lens. But since that part of my brain was activated and never entirely turned off, figured I may as well share some of the thoughts it produced, along with the events that prompted them. In order…

A fair number of people in my section do this regularly, but this was the first time someone remained sitting in one of my seats, and it got me thinking again about my decision to stand. Which I’ve been on the fence about, no international relations pun intended.

The easiest solution, of course, if anyone would listen to me, would be to lose the anthems altogether. I’ve long said that unless it’s national teams playing, there’s no reason to have anthems at sporting events at all. It’s an archaic, jingoistic, throwback tradition that has run its course.

But since no one who can make that decision is heeding my advice, well, to stand or not to stand?

For me, it’s always been important to distinguish between a country and its government. It’s especially important when thinking about America, but it’s often been the case for Canada too. And when there are governments acting against the wishes and interests of the majority of their citizens, that distinction feels all the more vital.

I also think about the Americans who’ve come to play here. To the degree that I’m a cog in a collective fanbase, I like to think I’m sending those players a message of acceptance and solidarity. As if to say, “I’m sure you’re not happy with what’s happening in America, but we’re with you. We see the good in you, and we’re not going to abandon you when the chips are down.”

But that might all be a way of justifying meek politeness. An “It’s your country, so who am I to judge?” But the answer to that could be “I’m a human being who sees villainy. And to the degree there’s a symbolic opportunity to oppose it, I should.”

And yes, there is a double standard in place. I feel comfortable weighing in on American politics in a way I’d absolutely resent if an American weighed in on Canadian politics, but that’s just the reality – American politics are world politics, and it’d be worse to not have opinions.

For now, I suspect I’ll keep standing, The Americans in the WNBA are undoubtedly dealing with enough, and to the degree I can “vote” with my legs, I’ll work against them feeling isolated here.

But the second players kneel or the like, I’ll be doing it right along with them. And it’s certainly something I’ll be more conscious of going forward. So we’ll see.

I believe as of now, it’s also the only time it’s happened. I’m not going to make too big a deal out of it, since I imagine no one else is. But I do remember thinking earlier that the ONLY benefit I saw in the singing of the national anthems was that it’s these days the only time I hear French. Beyond the odd news clip, that is. A small thing… but something as a Canadian that I should probably try to remedy.

This was actually the next game after those prior moments, but as I said off the top, politics was still on my mind. And whenever I hear the name “Atlanta Dream”, I do appreciate the nod to MLK. And whenever I think of this franchise, I do fondly remember how the players worked to get MAGA owner Kelly Loeffler removed AND got Raphael Warnock elected to the Senate over her.

With my political switch turned on, I did reflect for a second on the wide swath of people who only liked MLK after he was dead, and how what they like is the Disneyfied “Can’t we all just get along?” version. But mostly, good vibes.

As you know, this was back on Sunday, and I really want to let sleeping dogs lie. But this play started a firestorm, particularly online, which to my thinking was surprisingly political in nature. So let’s give it a look.

That was a Flagrant 1, right? A hard foul, but both hands on the ball, and no intent to injure. Now, I hate the tendency of people to review plays over and over in slo-mo like they’re watching the Zapruder film and then judge based on that. When really, everything happens in an instant, largely without conscious thought. That said, you don’t try to hurt someone by pulling them into you. Heck, if the ball comes loose at the start of that play, it’s probably a common foul, despite all the same “intent.” They were battling all night, and these things happen.

But the reason I related this play to politics is the online discourse reminded me that some players aren’t just players. For many, Angel is a totem, a representative of a whole class of people. And that led to a truly bizarre narrative unfolding online.

In fairness, I can’t say with any expertise if Angel doesn’t get the calls she should in general. What I can say is that people were posting about Isabelle like she’s some well-established goon, and how this play was the result of deep-seated hatred she’d harbored from their time playing together. Narratives that you knew instantly were false because they’d never existed before. But clearly, sometimes, people need to feel certain things. And there were some truly ugly posts I don’t want to get into, because, again, ugly.

Now, I will concede that the criticism of the Tempo fans for booing Angel Reese while she took her free throws is fair. And given the tensions, the in-arena decision to show on the Jumbotron Angel stepping three feet over the line on an uncalled out-of-bounds play seconds before… that may have been poor form. But it also seemed clear to me at the time – and I stand by this – that we were booing the officials, not Angel.

Hopefully, Izzy’s ejection – a Flagrant 2 was assessed – and the swinging of the game in Atlanta’s favour spells the end of the discussion. But when it comes to Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, their stans sometimes approach things with a religious fervor that seeks division. But hey, one can hope, right? And speaking of Caitlin Clark…

I mean, their Big Three were still their Big Three. Kelsey Mitchell led the team with 27, Aliyah Boston had an efficient 18-11 double-double, and Caitlin Clark had what seemed like a quiet 21-14 double-double. But Sophie Cunningham put up 24 points, on 8-for-11 shooting, 6-for-7 from three.

And Sophie Cunningham is someone I don’t quite know what to do with.

I’ve always felt the “MAGA Barbie” tag was unfair. But in a New York Times profile, she was quoted as saying, “All I have to say is I really am right in the middle, and I think a lot of America is like that. In our culture today, you have to choose and you have to be an extremist, and that’s just not me. So I agree with things on both sides; I disagree with things on both sides.”

And at this point in history… but on the other hand…

I mean, there’s a faux-neutral that we hear a lot from people who betray their partisanship with their words and their presence – see, this week, Joe Rogan and Nate Bargatze. (I’m sad about the latter.) But with some celebrities, I can understand wanting not to talk about it. And if you’re from Missouri, I imagine that once that can of worms is opened, well, you have to carry around an open can of worms.

So I mostly give her a pass. But as she was contributing to a Tempo-whooping, it was tempting to reassess.

I’ll admit this is a bit of a stretch… but every time “fascia” or “fasciitis” comes up, I always wonder if it has the same root as “fascist” and “fascism.” And yes, after a little research – you’re welcome – it seems they both come the Latin fasces, meaning “bundle.” The more you know…

It read as follows: “Kiki Rice suffered a grade 3 ankle sprain on June 3. Brittney Sykes suffered a plantar fascia injury on June 16. Both athletes will be re-evaluated in the coming weeks and are expected to make a full recovery and return in 2026.”

The political connection here is obvious. That is some incredible spin on what’s really bad news – both those players are gone for weeks. Though yes, to the degree that there’s good gaslighting, the hope/expectation that we’ll see them again this season is at least some small comfort.

There’s just too much there to unpack, so I’m going to let that title speak for itself. Though I will take a second to let you know that when I made a note to myself on my phone for this post, it autocorrected “Juneteenth” to “June tenth.” So society still has a way to go. As for the game result… I’m going to save that until the end. For political reasons.

I have faith that all the players involved in the brouhaha will want to show that there are no hard feelings. Not the kind of faith that’s always rewarded, but time will tell…

I know no one’s waiting for my opinion on these matters, but since you’ve made it this far, I’ll let you know. In essence, it may be a token gesture, but I say that not enough is better than nothing, and even if it’s just a reminder that we need to do more, it’s worth getting that reminder.

…

And now, the exciting conclusion…

We were at one point down by 16. With seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, we were down by 15. But on the strength of career-high scoring by Mabrey (37), who also tied the WNBA record for threes in a game with nine, AND Fagbenle (19), who is clearly rounding into shape… WE WON, 101-97!

And honestly, that win gave me the most important political lesson I got all week, and one that sports delivers better than anything else – even when you think something is lost, like a game or Western civilization, comebacks can happen!