By ERYKAH DAVENPORT<\/p>\n
“Me being heterosexual and straight, and being vocal in my identity as a straight woman, was huge,” Wiggins said in the San Diego Union-Tribune<\/em>. “I would say 98 percent of the women in the WNBA are gay women. It was a conformist type of place. There was a whole different set of rules they [the other players] could apply.”<\/p>\n This statement was made by a former WNBA star, Candice Wiggins. News sources said that she said the lesbian culture broke her spirit. Wiggins told the Union-Tribune<\/em> that the WNBA had a “very, very harmful” culture and that she was bullied throughout her WNBA career from 2008 to 2015. Wiggins allegedly was mistreated because she was straight.<\/p>\n This controversial stand made by Wiggins about the LGBT community was covered by Bleacher Report, ESPN, Pioneer Press<\/em>, Sports Illustrated<\/em> and the New York Post<\/em>. Immediately after her comments were released to the news media, other reliable outlets shared the news as well.<\/p>\n Wiggins branded the WNBA culture as \u201ctoxic.\u201d Many people, not only players and coaches were stunned, but fans as well. Maintaining a certain image for the WNBA is vital and from a media standpoint, Wiggins degraded it.<\/p>\n Even the WNBA president wanted her voice to be heard. In response to Wiggins\u2019 remark, Lisa Borders released a statement about her experience in the league.<\/p>\n “When I first read the comments from retired WNBA player Candice Wiggins, I was stunned and disappointed,” Borders said. “In my time with the league and my capacity as a fan before that, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know a group of highly competitive women who are driven to succeed at the highest level on the court and constantly striving to help create opportunity for all members of their communities.\u201d<\/p>\n Wiggins received so much attention and publicity from the media that she was asked to do a follow-up story. In the Union-Tribune<\/em>, Wiggins said she used the figure of 98 percent to be “illustrative.” “It was my way to illustrate the isolation that I felt personally,” Wiggins said. “I felt like the 2 percent versus the 98 percent. It felt that way to me. And it’s not just the players. It was the coaches. It was the leaders.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By ERYKAH DAVENPORT “Me being heterosexual and straight, and being vocal in my identity as a straight woman, was huge,” Wiggins said in the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I would say 98 percent of the women in the WNBA are gay … Continue reading