Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. has made some unflattering comments about the WNBA in the past, and he’s now apologizing for them. Former WNBA guard Lexie Brown was the latest guest on the Curious Mike show, and Porter started things off by saying he fully supports the women’s game.
“I want to start this interview out actually by just kind of in my own way apologizing for the way that I have come off not only to you, but I feel like rubbed even other NBA players the wrong way,” Porter said. “I have my opinions, and when people ask me questions, I do speak my mind, but I’m not always mindful of how that can come off.
“And I feel like for you guys, when you saw my comments or whatever, I don’t know. I feel like y’all might have took it the wrong way,” Porter continued. “… In real life, I’m overly supportive of women. Like my mom was one of the best basketball players… When people ask like who in your family like really started the basketball thing, it was my mom.
“My sisters played, so I’m overly like with y’all and what y’all do,” Porter added.
Porter has had a lot to say about the WNBA, and it was his comparing women’s basketball to ping pong on The Pivot Podcast in 2024 that upset many. Brown was among those upset, but she mentioned here that she understood now that the podcast had “done him dirty” by not sharing everything he had said in a clip posted online.
So, here is all that Porter had to say on The Pivot Podcast about WNBA players wanting more money.
“I see it from both sides,” Porter Jr. said. “I know these females want to get paid more, and they’re very talented, but so is a famous ping pong player… The best ping pong player is just as talented as the best basketball player. That doesn’t mean they’re going to get paid the same. It’s what the people want to watch.
“So as much as I understand females wanting the same treatment as men basketball players, it’s a different sport,” Porter stated. “They’re not packing out the arenas. Obviously their TV deals aren’t the same. So as much as I advocate for women and equality and the respect of their craft, and all those things, I mean you can’t pay them the same thing.
“But I do feel like there should be a way to make a little bit more money for them because they are very talented,” Porter added.
Now, co-host Ryan Clark pointed out to Porter that WNBA players are not asking to be paid like NBA players. Clark said they want the same revenue share, which is indeed the case. Porter nodded along and then added that the WNBA needs to lower the rims to make the game more exciting.
It’s unclear what parts of this Brown didn’t see at the time. The 31-year-old didn’t like what she did see and criticized Porter on Gil’s Arena.
“I think his heart was in the right place, so I’m not here to s*** on Michael Porter Jr.,” Brown said. “… He started on the right foot and then he just kind of put his foot in his mouth. My issue with The Pivot is they allow these guys to say things that they know is wrong, and they’re just so like, ‘okay, okay, keep going.’ Or they’ll feed them more information for them to then double down on the stupid s*** that they had just said.”
Brown wasn’t a fan of Porter repeatedly saying “female” instead of “woman.” She added that women can be respected for their craft and not be paid $20 million. Those aren’t mutually exclusive.
Brown had kept her cool up to that point, but she did lose it a bit when responding to Porter wanting the rims lowered.
“I just feel like the way he plays basketball, he shoots a lot of threes,” Brown said. “… He doesn’t dunk. He wants us to dunk; you dunk. Like, what are we talking about? It’s a tired conversation, and I’m very annoyed with men continue to create these spaces to discuss these things when they don’t watch our games. They don’t know us. They don’t ask us our opinions about anything, ever.
“And you don’t have to watch us play, that’s fine,” Brown added. “But for you to just sit there and just constantly s*** on our craft, our product and everything without really being tuned in, it’s not right at this point. But again, you don’t have to watch anything, but y’all always want to talk about us, so might as well watch us, s***.”
Well, Porter did stop talking eventually, but that was because the Nets told him to stop commenting about the WNBA. They didn’t want the 28-year-old stirring up more controversy. By that point, Porter had said the McDonald’s All-American team would beat the WNBA All-Stars. He also said he was beating college and WNBA players in eighth grade.
While Porter and Brown have hashed things out, there might be a lot more WNBA players he needs to have a conversation with.
