Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton got handed a five-game suspension and a fine by the WNBA after she was caught berating two young female fans supporting Sophie Cunningham in an abusive tirade that included expletives.
Many observers, such as Clay Travis, feel that it is a pretty lenient punishment from the league, raising ongoing questions about the culture and precedent it sets within the league.
Clay Travis Questions Severity Of Suspension For Storm Co-owner’s Fan Tirade
The WNBA are mired in another controversy when the Storm minority co-owner was found berating two female teenage fans for their beliefs standing up for their favorite player, Sophie Cunningham’s political stance. The WNBA only handed out a five-game suspension for this offense.
For further context, these young fans held up a sign saying “Thank You Sophie for standing up for us girls.” This is in relation to an interview where Cunningham believed it was “common sense,” to ensure transgender athletes are barred from competing in women’s sports.
It is highly unusual for ownership to get involved in fan altercations, but that is precisely what the Storm co-owner did to those who agreed with Cunningham.
Clay Travis, founder of ‘Outkick,’ questioned the severity of the WNBA’s punishment, using the Donald Sterling example as a comparison.
Travis posted on social media platform X the following tweet: “The @nba forced an owner to sell the team for offensive comments in private to his mistress. The @wnba suspended an owner for five games for cursing out teenage girls at a public game. Isn’t the WNBA owner’s behavior worse? Why much less punishment for her? Debate, discuss.”
The @nba forced an owner to sell the team for offensive comments in private to his mistress. The @wnba suspended an owner for five games for cursing out teenage girls at a public game. Isn’t the WNBA owner’s behavior worse? Why much less punishment for her? Debate, discuss.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) July 30, 2026
It’s thought-provoking, but using Donald Sterling as an example is arguably not the best. For context, Sterling was recorded saying deeply racist and offensive comments in a private conversation that were extremely serious, prompting him to be banned for life.
Travis then followed that up by commenting on his thread, “shouldn’t the standard for insulting comments in public to teenage fans be higher than the standard for private comments to a mistress.”
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Arguably, many would feel, two things can be true: the NBA acted swiftly and correctly, forcing Sterling out of the NBA, but would agree with Travis’ overall point, the WNBA’s punishment of a five-game suspension for a co-owner berating and swearing at minors during a game seems potentially lax considering its significant severity.
It potentially raises questions about the league’s culture and sets a bad precedent for a league that seems to be caught in more than a few political storms of late.
