WNBA Players’ Association executive director Terri Jackson released a statement , accusing Brennan of "a blatant attempt to bait a professional athlete into participating in a narrative that is false and designed to fuel racist, homophobic and misogynistic vitriol on social media."

Bird blamed "trolls" and "bots" on social media — as well as "media members who don't usually cover our league" — for perpetuating the negativity that has engulfed the WNBA.