ESPN Mocked For Prioritizing WNBA Virtue Signaling Over Athletic Achievement

ESPN, a global sports media network that has remained woke despite the prevailing zeitgeist having moved away from that perspective, on Thursday put out a problematic post on X celebrating itself, captioned, “All the icons. All the moments. All of @espn. All in one place.”

The problem? The professional athletes pictured in the post — which was later deleted — were heavily dominated by WNBA players, a sport that has low attendance and has to be propped up by the NBA.

Various social media posts counted the number of professional athletes, and the results indicated that ESPN, once again, seemed to be shilling for a woke perspective instead of celebrating the sports that have a genuinely heavy turnout.

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“If you were an alien you would believe from this picture that the most popular sport in the United States is the WNBA. ESPN is out of its damn mind,” Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro posted.

If you were an alien you would believe from this picture that the most popular sport in the United States is the WNBA. ESPN is out of its damn mind. https://t.co/zTWMRS4ZXX

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 22, 2025

David Cone, co-host of Crain & Company, posted a hilarious meme referencing “A Clockwork Orange”:

ESPN making sure I watch the WNBA https://t.co/k3TpkfUJAD pic.twitter.com/xppktxG3dC

— David Cone (@davidadamcone) August 22, 2025

Fellow co-host Blain Crain echoed, “20 WNBA players and no Scottie Scheffler? ESPN is cooked.”

A story in 2 parts. pic.twitter.com/DU3FEt6HX9

— NeitherSchnierOrThere (@Cathew_) August 22, 2025

Former MLB All-Star Zack Cozart chimed in, “Having more WNBA players than MLB players shows u how big a joke ESPN is.”

having more WNBA players than MLB players shows u how big a joke ESPN is https://t.co/GR7hzpwjqM

— Zack Cozart (@zack_cozart) August 22, 2025

“There are 20 WNBA players on here, 18 of whom most people don’t recognize. Yet Scottie Scheffler, the most dominant athlete today, isn’t included. Why?” Bobby Burack of Outkick noted.

There are 20 WNBA players on here, 18 of whom most people don’t recognize. Yet Scottie Scheffler, the most dominant athlete today, isn’t included. Why? https://t.co/Q6N9ZBf3t4

— Bobby Burack (@burackbobby_) August 22, 2025

“3 NHL players. 3 MLB players. 20 WNBA players. Tells you everything you need to know about ESPN,” the Utah Football Fans Podcast snapped.

3 NHL players. 3 MLB players. 20 WNBA players. Tells you everything you need to know about ESPN

— Utah Football Fans Podcast (@UtahFBFans) August 22, 2025

A baseball analyst and author posted Shane Gillis’ joke about the WNBA at the ESPYs:

pic.twitter.com/kX57cXM7J3

— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) August 22, 2025

Of course, ESPN has featured woke perspectives for years; Fox News delineated some in a 2022 article which listed, “Sarah Spain calls Rays players ‘bigots’ for not wearing gay pride patch,’” “On-air tears after Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade,” “ESPN’s Elle Duncan urges fathers to advocate for their daughters’ right to have abortions,” and ‘Moment of silence to protest Florida’s parental rights bill.”