Skip Bayless attempted to remind sports fans that the WNBA isn’t just about Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese when you’re a league with stars like “Alyssa” Boston.
With the latest installment of the Angel Reese-Caitlin Clark rivalry resulting in the Chicago Sky beating the Indiana Fever 88-87 Sunday afternoon, FS1’s Undisputed opened with the WNBA Monday morning.
To their credit, Undisputed has devoted many segments to the WNBA in recent weeks.
To their detriment, Bayless highlighted Alyssa Boston at least three times on the show Monday morning.
If you’re a WNBA fan asking yourself, ‘Who is Alyssa Boston?’ That’s a fair question because there is no one by the name of Alyssa Boston in the WNBA. There is Aliyah Boston and NaLyssa Smith, but no Alyssa Boston.
“I’m gonna hold women’s basketball to the same standards I would hold men’s basketball,” Bayless said before criticizing Caitlin Clark in the wake of Indiana’s loss to Chicago. Similarly, Bayless should be held to the same standards when talking about women’s basketball as he is when talking about men’s basketball. And those standards should include knowing the name of the star player you’re talking about.
At least three times on Monday, Bayless referred to Aliyah Boston as Alyssa Boston. Mistakes happen. If it happened once, probably not a big deal. But three times in about seven minutes is pretty bad. Bayless has to do better, and the show has to do better. Someone working on Undisputed must be capable of getting in Skip’s ear to let him know he was repeatedly referring to Boston by the wrong name.
Aliyah Boston is a foundation player alongside Caitlin Clark for the Fever, the first pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft, an All-Star, and the reigning Rookie of the Year. This would be like Bayless repeatedly calling Paolo Banchero “Pablo” on national TV. Being wrong about simple facts like a player’s name is an easy way to lose credibility with fans. And for someone like Bayless who doesn’t have much credibility when it comes to the WNBA, blatant and basic mistakes like this will make it that much harder for him to ever earn it.
The WNBA should still be taking some solace in whoever Alyssa Boston is getting so much undeserved attention on Undisputed. Only the most popular sports get botched on debate shows with such regularity.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com