Colby Woolsey

Stephen A. Smith addresses widely criticized Lane Johnson take: ‘People misconstrued me’ awfulannouncing.com/nfl/step…

🚨 THE WNBA HAS BEEN CORNERED BY ITS OWN RULEBOOK. Everyone witnessed what happened in Game 2. The footage has been dissected, the rules have been exposed, and the entire basketball community is now waiting for the WNBA to do what a legitimate professional sports league is obligated to do. The NBA has repeatedly demonstrated that crossing the player-fan boundary carries serious consequences, regardless of intent or provocation. And let's be absolutely clear about NBA precedent. Isaiah Thomas received TWO games for entering the stands to confront fans without physical violence. Antonio Davis received FIVE games, and DJ Mbenga received SIX. Both entered the stands over concerns involving family members. A'ja Wilson's actions were considerably worse on all counts. Now explain why the WNBA should operate under a different standard when its MVP is involved. ENFORCE ITS OWN RULES. Deliberately entering the stands requires automatic ejection. Players leaving the bench area during a qualifying altercation face MANDATORY suspensions beginning before their next game. The WNBA must now acknowledge violations occurred, identify the responsible players, and apply the prescribed penalties. And with tonight's elimination game approaching, the league is running out of time. There is growing speculation that the WNBA is deliberately delaying its decision to protect A’ja Wilson and other Las Vegas Aces players from missing a critical playoff game. That allegation has not been proven. But should the WNBA allow tonight's game to proceed without addressing potential mandatory suspensions, it will only fuel suspicions that the delay was deliberately intended to protect A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces from the consequences of their actions. Deliberately postponing mandatory discipline until AFTER the game in which it should have been served would represent a calculated manipulation of competitive integrity. That would be a scandal far bigger than the original incident. The WNBA cannot allow the timing of its disciplinary process to determine who plays in an elimination game. Its credibility is already under intense scrutiny. An unexplained delay only invites further questions about preferential treatment and whether the league considers its own rules negotiable. Cathy Engelbert and the WNBA have a decision to make. Determine what happened. Explain the findings. Enforce every applicable rule. BEFORE TIPOFF. Because a professional sports league that selectively controls WHEN its rules are enforced leaves fans questioning whether its competition is legitimate.