The discourse surrounding A’ja Wilson’s unsportsmanlike actions in Game 2 in Indiana, where she received even though she entered the seating area and confronted a male Fever fan for simply pointing at her after a controversial foul, has sparked countless inflammatory comments.
fans have condemned the man and, at times, the entire fan base. The media has overwhelming taken Wilson’s side, even after the man was proven innocent, and players like Chicago Sky’s Natasha Cloud claimed the fan may be a domestic abuser. Even A’ja Wilson’s mom jumped on the bandwagon in her own special way following the Aces’ series-clinching win in Vegas Thursday night.
After the game, where Wilson dominated yet again, leading all scorers with 36 points, along with 10 rebounds, Wilson was seen hugging team owner Mark Davis, as well as friends, and her mother, Eva Rakes Wilson. Following congratulating her daughter, Eva began waving a pink, heart-shaped sign that said “Love Beats Hate.” It seemed to imply the baseless claim & unfounded talking point we’ve heard for years now â especially after Wilson’s confrontation with the fan in Indiana â that Fever fans are hateful bigots. Some fans I interviewed outside the arena told me outright, and unashamedly, that they believe Fever fans are “racist.” But without asking Eva personally about her sign, I wouldn’t know for sure what she was implying. Luckily, I was provided that opportunity minutes later.
Eva began walking the circumference of the court, parading the sign across the arena with Aces fans cheering her on. I told myself I would ask her to explain her sign if she made it back my way.
As she was walking in the pathway behind the courtside seats, still proudly displaying the sign, looking for more validation from fans, I asked her calmly and respectfully, “Can you tell me what your sign means?”
Eva responded sternly to my question with a question: “What do you think it means?” A nearby supporter yelled at me saying, “Read it!”
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I told her and the fan, “I’m reading it, but I’m interested what it means.”
She continued to deflect, asking me: “What do you think it means?”
I asked again, which she responded saying, “It means exactly what the sign says.”
At this point, you could see how incredibly frustrated she was as I calmly attempted to get her to explain what statement she is making exactly. “Listen to me!” she exclaimed as she stepped back towards me.
At this point I needed to get to the bottom of this and ask the question we were all thinking. “Do you believe Indiana Fever fans are hateful?” That really struck a cord as she started stepping towards me again and pointing in my face. (Oh the irony of A’ja Wilson’s mom pointing and stepping toward me. I thought that was one of the worst things a person could do courtside.)
“I mean exactly what the sign says,” she yelled again, pacing back and forth, clearly ticked off that I would even dare question her.
She then pointed in my face again and said, “Keep it (the camera) rolling!” followed by putting the sign in my face. I then responded with, “That seems like a lot of hate,” referencing the way she was acting toward my questioning and
