National Basketball Association

Ex-NBA star Arenas shares his (sexist) advice for WNBA

Published Dec. 16, 2015 2:37 p.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

The 2015 WNBA season ended back in October, when the Minnesota Lynx won their third title in the past five years. So it's a little odd that former NBA player Gilbert Arenas would be offering advice to the professional basketball league more than two months into its offseason.

"Odd," however, is not the best word to describe Arenas' take on the WNBA. Instead, a better word is "sexist." Or "disgusting." Or any other awful word that you might prefer, really. On Tuesday, Arenas posted a not-safe-for-work Instagram video of scantily clad women playing basketball. In the accompanying (also NSFW) caption, Arenas wrote:

The comment only got worse from there. You can click on the above link to read it in its entirety; again, be warned that the image and caption aren't something you'd share with your co-workers.

League spokesman Mike Bass released a statement on behalf of the NBA and WNBA.

“Gilbert Arenas’s comments are repugnant, utterly disrespectful and flat-out wrong,” Bass said. “WNBA players are strong, talented and determined individuals who give it their all on the court and serve as inspiring role models to millions around the world. They should be celebrated for their accomplishments, not disparaged with ignorant insults.”

New York Liberty star Swin Cash shared her thoughts on Arenas' comments.

To top it all off, Arenas pre-emptively lashed out at his would-be detractors, saying that people who would call his comments sexist are the ugly one "9 times out of 10."

I'll just leave this here... We've got too many impressionable young girls ready to run the… https://t.co/wxYygVKQrx
— Swin Cash (@SwinCash) December 16, 2015

But that's ridiculous. Arenas, who's still somewhat of a visible public figure, offered his megaphone to the idea of seeing WNBA players specifically -- and women in general -- as cattle there for the amusement of others.

Arenas, of course, has every right to share his thoughts. And, in turn, we have an obligation to point out how wrong-headed he is.