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The Street

Colin Salao

A'ja Wilson, Dawn Staley call out women's sports outlet

Aja Wilson Dawn Staley WNBA Caitlin Clark NIke dawnstaley

A'ja Wilson's new signature shoe is still billed for 2025, but there's already been a ton of controversy around its release.

It started in April when it was announced that Nike would give Caitlin Clark a signature shoe. Some fans were livid that a player, who had not played a single game in the WNBA yet, was receiving a signature shoe before a two-time WNBA MVP and the leader of the back-to-back WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces.

Wilson herself sent out a tweet that seemed to indicate that she was bothered by the announcement.

Always remember what is delayed is not denied …✨🤍
— A'ja Wilson (@_ajawilson22) April 18, 2024

However, this was also one of the first triggers some fans used to begin to criticize WNBA stars for being jealous of Clark. For some, this also sparked the race argument as some of the prominent names to receive signature shoes were white women like Clark, Sabrina Ionescu, and Breanna Stewart.

Wilson pushed back on that notion saying that "no one is jealous."

lol no one is jealous bookie! I have no reason to be lol I truly Wish all 143 the best fr ! Our league is hard as hell so to thrive and to stay in it consistently.. is huge! So pls stop with this jealousy stuff https://t.co/ERRCCyqCO5
— A'ja Wilson (@_ajawilson22) April 18, 2024

Just a month later, it was revealed that Wilson's signature shoe was already in the works and that the backlash may have been part of Nike's marketing ploy to attract more attention to Wilson's signature line.

On May 11, just a few days before the 2024 WNBA season tipped off, Nike and Wilson announced that her signature shoe and full collection was in the works and set to be launched in 2025.

The answer to the question 💅🤭 pic.twitter.com/WgXSDMmbwE
— A'ja Wilson (@_ajawilson22) May 11, 2024

However, a new issue has come up with Wilson and her line following the release of her new logo on Saturday, June 22.

FIRST LOOK 👀

Nike has unveiled A’ja Wilson’s signature logo for her upcoming sneaker line 👀 @_ajawilson22 https://t.co/dNSzYDuXVJ pic.twitter.com/EbA262B0rh
— Nice Kicks (@nicekicks) June 22, 2024

Wilson calls out Just Women's Sports for criticism

The reveal of Wilson's logo received a mix of reviews on social media, with many users on X criticizing the logo's look.

However, podcasters of "Expert Adjacent," a show by digital publication Just Women's Sports (JWS), were public and direct about how much they disliked Wilson's new logo.

"It looks like a vertebrae," said one of the show's hosts.

More Women’s Basketball:

Another host pointed out that some have already photoshopped the logo to spell out the word "ass."

Since they are wanna act scary lol here’s the video she is qt #wnba pic.twitter.com/3skOQLZvJE
— Jamaican Sensation💋 (@Drea_xs) June 26, 2024

Wilson, who is one of the most active professional athletes on social media, voiced her displeasure with the comments from JWS. She said that she understands that people have opinions, but said it's "lame" that an outlet dedicated to women's sports would be this critical.

"I get ppl are gonna have their opinions and think pieces & that’s all fine and dandy it’s all apart of it but this is lame asf coming from a site that suppose to be for 'us,'" Wilson wrote on X on Tuesday, June 25.

I get ppl are gonna have their opinions and think pieces & that’s all fine and dandy it’s all apart of it but this is lame asf coming from a site that suppose to be for “us” 🫠 BUTTTTTTT Bet it up! 😎 the A ✨ collection is about to be so much fun and a great collection for… https://t.co/gU7s078Rzw
— A'ja Wilson (@_ajawilson22) June 26, 2024

University of South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, who coached Wilson in college, also called out JWS. In a reply to Wilson and a user who tweeted out a clip from the JWS podcast, Staley implied that she has some negative sentiments about JWS.

"You know what the jig is up with Just Women's Sports.....I want to say more but I'll leave it as this," Staley said.

You know what the jig is up with Just Women’s Sports…..I want to say more but I’ll leave it at this. And btw, I love @_ajawilson22 logo. It’s innovative and creative….it’s A’ONE!
— dawnstaley (@dawnstaley) June 26, 2024

The post has since been deleted from their social media accounts.

JWS was founded in 2020 by former Stanford college soccer player Haley Rosen. The outlet received funding in the past from notable investors such as WNBA stars Arike Ogunbowale and Elena Delle Donne.

The outlet has received criticism in the past for improper journalism tactics such as taking content from other outlets and failing to give credit to other reporters and photographers.