As at all times, the 2024 ESPYs have been dwelling to some immediately-viral moments.
Supply: Frazer Harrison / Getty
Serena Williams hosted the present, bringing her sister, Venus Williams, and Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson onstage for a phase to have a good time ladies’s sports activities rising in recognition.
Whereas plenty of issues have contributed to ladies’s sports activities lastly getting the eye it deserves, an enormous cause so many individuals are paying consideration is WNBA star Caitlin Clark, the No. 1 draft choose in April after making a reputation for herself whereas taking part in on the College of Iowa. Nonetheless, not everybody has spoken about Clark’s rise to stardom respectfully, which was the topic of the trio’s phase.
Brunson and the Williams sisters gave a listing of names which can be acceptable when speaking about feminine athletes, together with “athlete,” “champion,” and even “dumbass.”
“Simply don’t use the b-word,” the trio insisted.
This second specifically appears to be a reference to ESPN commentator Pat McAfee, who referred to Clark as a “white b***h” final month throughout a dialog about her expertise in relation to her race.
“What we’re making an attempt to say is, what the WNBA at the moment has is what we like to explain as a money cow. There’s a famous person,” McAfee mentioned in June. “However I would really like the media people who proceed to say, ‘This rookie class, this rookie class.’ Nah, simply name it for what it’s. There may be one white b***h for the Indiana group who’s a famous person.”
He went on to difficulty an apology on X, saying he “shouldn’t have used ‘white b***h’ as a descriptor of Caitlin Clark, regardless of the context…Even when we’re speaking about race being a cause for among the stuff taking place.”
Throughout one other portion of the phase, Serena, Venus and Quinta additionally known as out Kansas Metropolis Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, who was torn aside on-line following his graduation speech at Benedictine Faculty.
Throughout his speech, he mentioned quite a lot of controversial issues, together with telling the ladies graduating, “A few of chances are you’ll go on to guide profitable careers on the planet, however I’d enterprise to guess that almost all of you might be most enthusiastic about your marriage and the youngsters you’ll carry into this world.”
This time, Brunson and the Williams sisters known as him out by title, with Serena telling the viewers, “Get pleasure from ladies’s sports activities, they’re identical to different sports activities, besides you Harrison Butker, we don’t want you.”
“In any respect. Like, ever,” Brunson chimed in.