WNBA rookie Paige Bueckers calls out ‘White privilege’ in media coverage

The WNBA season hasn’t started yet, but Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers is already making headlines. The top pick in this year’s draft raised concerns this week about “White privilege” in media coverage.

Bueckers, who is White, has said in the past that she and Caitlin Clark have benefited from being White, with an unfair amount of credit and attention. 

“It’s still an issue every single day. There’s not ever equal coverage,” she told Time magazine in an interview published Monday. “There’s White privilege every single day that I see. I feel like I’ve worked extremely hard, blessed by God. But I do think there’s more opportunities for me.” 

Bueckers became a star during her college days at UConn. The 23-year-old signed deals with Gatorade, Bose, Nike and Verizon long before last month’s WNBA draft. 

“I feel like even just marketability, people tend to favor White people, White males, White women. I think it should be equal opportunity,” she said. “I feel like there is privilege to what I have and to what all White people have. I recognize that; I want to counteract that with the way I go about my business.”

It isn’t a new topic for Bueckers. The Minnesota native raised concerns about Black athletes’ lack of attention after she won the Best Female College Athlete award at the 2021 ESPYs.

“With the light that I have now as a White woman who leads a Black-led sport and [is] celebrated here, I want to shed a light on Black women,” Bueckers said in her acceptance speech. “They don’t get the media coverage that they deserve.”

While most WNBA players are Black, Clark and Bueckers have been touted by many as the faces of the league. 

“There’s a privilege for the younger, White players in the league,” Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink, who is White, told Uproxx last season. “That’s not always true, but there is a privilege that we have inherently.”

The WNBA season begins on May 16.