Hey guys: Kaitlyn Chen and Kate Martin never played the same role on the Golden State Valkyries, and the decision to keep Chen and waived Martin had nothing to do with "picking" one over the other.
As much as Dawn Staley got some (appropriate) heat for suggesting Bay Area reporter Matt Lively brought former Gamecock Laeticia Amihere into a conversation about the Valkyries' decision to waive Martin, the heart of what she was getting at is important. Staley could have benefitted from taking a beat to realize Lively wasn't suggesting anything untoward, but she's likely well aware of the negative (and let's call it what it is: racist) responses to the fact that both Amihere and Chen are still on the team and Martin isn't.
So now that we've discussed that, let's jump into today's topic: some so-called WNBA fans are getting the entire narrative around Martin's dismissal from the Valkyries wrong, and they're dragging Chen through the mud while doing so.
Kate Martin and Kaitlyn Chen didn't play the same role for the Valkyries. I know I already said that, but we're saying it again. Sure, they're both guards, but they're not quite interchangable in terms of what Golden State needs on the court. They also, to be abundantly fair, did not have the same offseason.
Chen, who has proven she's a strong backup point guard for Golden State, put in an extremely strong performance with Athletes Unlimited earlier this year. Though she played limited minutes for the Valkyries last season, her time with AU gave her the opportunity to get significant time and she used that to her full advantage. Chen was named captain during the league's second week, and was the first overall draft pick during its fourth and final weeks. She saw her 10.6 minutes and two points per game in the WNBA turn into 30.6 minutes and 16 points per game with AU.
If you think the Valkyries were somehow unaware of that performance just because you missed it, you're... wrong.
Martin, on the other hand, played limited minutes during Unrivaled's second season. That wasn't her fault, as she suffered an injury that dictated what she could really do. But it meant that not only did she not get the chance to perform in Unrivaled, she also was forced to sit on the sidelines without developing her game any further. It's logical to assume that had an impact on her W readiness during the preseason (and, in fact, Martin currently has a grade two quad strain).
The Valkyries have made it clear that the decision to waive Martin was emotional and difficult to arrive at; coach Natalie Nakase called her family. Any suggestion that the decision was made because one person is preferred over the other for anything other than their ability to help the team win basketball games right now is dangerous, dumb, and has no room in the game.
So, to the so-called WNBA fans of social media: lay off Chen and watch the games. Have some fun. Stop being racist.
It's exhausting.
Add us as a preferred source on Google