The 2026 WNBA season is almost upon us and even though the league is expanding rapidly, there are still familiar names among final roster cuts. One of those is former Iowa star Kate Martin. But a post about her fate with the Golden State Valkyries drew a surprising backlash from none other than South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley.
Martin has been a popular WNBA player in her time in the pros, carrying plenty of name recognition that comes with being on the successful Iowa teams with Caitlin Clark. But she was able to carve out a role both with the Las Vegas Aces and Golden State Valkyries.
However, she was the final cut from the Valkyries this season. And as laid out in a post from Matt Lively of CBS affiliate KPIX in the Bay Area, it was an agonizing call given three players were fighting for two spots. And in spite of her fan base, it was Martin that was left out in a competition with UConn alum Kaitlyn Chen and former first round pick Laeticia Amihere from South Carolina.
Kate Martin is the final cut from the Valkyries.
They opt to keep Kaitlyn Chen and Laeticia Amihere over Martin. The move makes sense in terms of need but Martin is an incredibly popular player with a fan base that shows up in every city. https://t.co/CAYu159XNZ
— Matt Lively (@mattblively) May 7, 2026
As innocent as the tweet may seem, it still drew condemnation from Dawn Staley. She called out Lively for daring to use the names of other players, especially her former player in Amihere, in talking about Martin’s departure. She said it was “not cool” and said she hopes that Lively can cover the team “unbiasedly” in the future.
Not cool to actually use other players names specifically Laeticia Amihere for your personal preface. I hope if you cover the Valkyries you can unbiasedly do so moving forward. https://t.co/acTaffe7vA
— dawnstaley (@dawnstaley) May 8, 2026
Staley’s tweet drew pushback across social media for trying to paint a narrative that Lively was somehow biased in his reporting or rooting for or against certain players to make the final Valkyries roster. It would be one thing if she was merely defending her own player and rooting for her success in the pros, but the consistent reaction to her post was that the South Carolina coach took it too far.
There were also plenty of individuals who pointed out that Dawn Staley did the same thing that she called out Lively for when she spoke openly about how Angel Reese’s trade away from the Chicago Sky would help open up things for another one of her former players in Kamilla Cardoso.
All respect to the Dawn, but personally I think this is uncalled for. @mattblively is one of the best in the biz and he was simply pointing out the roster crunch. https://t.co/P5fi3HucKd
— Nathan Canilao (@nathancanilao) May 8, 2026
There is a disconnect with people who advocate and request more/better coverage of women’s sports but then get testy when the coverage is actual journalism and not fawning praise and propaganda. https://t.co/1qHHhnyj7q
— Matt Zimmer (@MattJZimmer) May 8, 2026
I’m confused. Why did you mention Angel Reese in a Chicago Sun Times interview when talking about Kamilla’s role on the Sky this season? Were you wrong then or is Matt correct, now? Can’t have it both ways. 🙃 https://t.co/bDyKxsn696
— Pree (@QueenHer11) May 8, 2026
WNBA players shouldn’t be treated with kid gloves. There’s nothing wrong with a reporter specifying that there were three players for two spots. (H/T @Valkyries_Muse) pic.twitter.com/UkjkVhff8o
— Ryan Glasspiegel (@sportsrapport) May 8, 2026
It seems like there is always controversy that comes with how WNBA players are covered, whether that’s criticism that comes internally or externally. Just ask Christine Brennan.
Lively was merely stating facts. Kate Martin is a popular player with lots of fans around the country. That was definitely not meant to be a slight against the other two players involved as Lively even stated that it made plenty of basketball sense. If that’s something that Dawn Staley is going to take offense over, then it’d be interesting to know what she would think is permissible for WNBA reporters talking about roster transactions.
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