Chicago Sky rip Bill Simmons podcast after patronizing dig at WNBA

The Chicago Sky offered a comedic rebuke to controversial WNBA commentary provided on "The Bill Simmons Podcast" this week.

Bill Simmons, the founder of The Ringer, and guest Ethan Strauss, a former NBA reporter who covered the Golden State Warriors , suggested that WNBA franchises should take on the names of local NBA teams to improve brand awareness. The Sky wrote in response: "How about.... No."

"The one thing they should have done, and maybe there's still time to do, that they didn't do from the outset, is just use the same team name," Strauss had said. "Why force people to learn about the Fever ? Why not just have the W Pacers ? I think that just makes it so much easier to just resonate and cut across."

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The following day, the Sky provided a tongue-in-cheek update to their Media Day proceedings, writing, "Sorry everyone, might have a delay on Media Day pics today. We realized our team name is too hard to say/learn after recent developments…."

Women's basketball has enjoyed a boon in recent years after the WNBA suffered record-low attendance in 2022, with this season's draft attracting more than 1.5 million viewers and March Madness shattering broadcast records.

Caitlin Clark , the No. 1 draft pick, is part of a new generation of dazzling, identifiable stars who have brought women's basketball to the wider sporting public, and nowhere is this more evident than the Windy City. Rookie sensations Angel Reese , one of the WNBA's most visible stars with more than 3 million Instagram followers, and Kamilla Cardoso , a national title winner, have suited up for the Chicago Sky after sensational college careers in the SEC.

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The WNBA begins its 27th season in a matter of days, and Strauss' suggestion features prominently in the league's Y2K origins. Many of the league's eight founding members selected a team name and color scheme that closely reflected the city's local NBA franchise -- the Charlotte Sting mirrored the Hornets , the Sacramento Monarchs paid homage to the Kings , the Houston Comets referenced the local Rockets and the Utah Starzz's odd spelling choice was designed to evoke the Jazz .

All four of these teams have since folded, largely giving way to teams with more distinct identities, and the leader in attendance from the 2022-23 season comes from markets with no competing NBA franchise in Las Vegas . These comments come after a string of disparaging remarks made by Simmons toward women's basketball.

"The vast majority of WNBA players lack crossover sex appeal," Simmons wrote in 2006. "That's just the way it is. Some are uncomfortably tall and gawky, while others lack the requisite, um, softer qualities to captivate males between 18 and 35. The baggy uniforms don't help. Neither does the fact that it's tough for anyone to look attractive at the end of a two-hour basketball game."