Part 8/10:
Critical to their argument was the idea that if WNBA players actually took the lucrative deals in Saudi Arabia, their outspoken social justice activism would likely disappear. The hosts argued that conditions for women and LGBTQ+ persons in Saudi Arabia are so oppressive that the same athletes who champion these causes in the U.S. would have to keep silent—perhaps forever.
They highlighted that Saudi Arabia makes it impossible for social justice causes like Black Lives Matter to take root openly, much less be promoted during events or on the courts. The irony was palpable: these athletes’ activism is essentially silenced in a country where such causes could cost them their lives.