When the Los Angeles Sparks announced tryouts for male practice players for the 2025 season on X, it seemed like a routine move to strengthen their squad. But social media had other plans. The post quickly racked up unsettling comments, making WNBA star Cameron Brink uneasy.
After seeing the reactions, Brink didn’t hold back, admitting she felt “icked out” by the whole situation.
Brink Feels Uneasy About Sparks’ Male Practice Players
Brink, 23, spoke openly about her discomfort during a conversation with co-host Sydel Curry-Lee on their podcast, Straight to Cam. She explained that while male practice players aren’t a new concept in women’s basketball, the way some people responded to the tryout announcement gave her second thoughts.
“I guess my confession is I’m really icked out by the potential new practice players,” Brink told Curry-Lee in a clip from their March 17 episode.
.@cameronbrink22 has some thoughts on the male practice player tryouts. 😬
Episode 8 drops tomorrow at 1PM ET/10AM PT! pic.twitter.com/iPfmi18KxM
— Straight to Cam (@straight2cam) March 16, 2025
When Curry-Lee admitted she hadn’t seen the March 13 post, Brink filled her in.
“It’s basically just a flyer, it’s like me, Dearica [Hamby], Rickea [Jackson], and Kelsey [Plum], and it’s like ‘male practice players wanted,’” Brink explained. “And usually we use like USC, college guys, that’s also like do it for the women’s team at USC, and all the comments are like, ‘Let Cameron Brink back me down,’ or something about Rickea or something about Kelsey. And I am just like, preferably they are gay.”
SEE MORE: WNBA Star Cameron Brink Returns to Court 7 Months Later With Unrivaled After Tearing ACL
Curry-Lee didn’t hold back either, adding, “They need to go through heavy HR training.” Brink agreed, laughing but also making it clear that she has real concerns.
“Who are we trusting coming into this gym?” she asked.
Brink, the 6’4″ Sparks forward and second overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, made it clear she’s not planning on getting too physical with these practice players either.
“I’m not boxing anyone out,” she joked. “Lynne, our new coach, is going to be screaming at me for not rebounding, I am not boxing out anyone.”
Sparks Tryout Process Closes After Viral Response
The Sparks’ announcement gained over 43 million views and it didn’t take long for people to make questionable comments. In addition to that, Rickea Jackson also issued a challenge to fans after the announcement.
As the reactions piled up, the Sparks revealed they had received an “overwhelming number” of applications and officially closed the tryout process. It remains unclear if they will address Brink’s concerns or reconsider their approach in the future.
For now, Brink and the Sparks are gearing up for the new season, but clearly, this conversation isn’t over yet.
