Sarah Spain calls Fever GM 'defensive' for defending fans, but has plenty to say to her own critics

Sarah Spain thought fans had been removed from games for violating the WNBA's fan code of conduct. Then general manager Amber Cox said no fans had been removed from the team's home games this season, citing the organization's security records.

That news surprised Spain ... but it didn't stop her from criticizing Cox for sounding "defensive" in her rebuttal.

Well, wouldn't you be defensive if people kept trashing your fans and you had information that contradicted what they were saying?

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Spain certainly understands wanting to defend herself. When she didn't like one of my columns, she devoted part of her podcast to complaining about it.

But when Cox pushes back on the media, Spain has a problem with her tone.

"The attacks on our fan base have no basis in reality, and they need to stop, especially with members of the media," Cox said during her season-ending news conference. She clarified that she was referring to media who hadn't attended a game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

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Cox acknowledged that bad behavior happens and said anyone crossing the line, online or in an arena, should be held accountable. But she also actually attending her team's games.

"We did not have one fan pointed out by a player who violated the WNBA code of conduct this season. Not one fan was removed from a game," Cox said. "We take this really seriously, and that is backed up by our security stats and the lived experiences of countless fans who we host at every game."

"To be characterized in such a broad stroke is not fair," she added.

On a recent episode of her podcast, Spain credited Cox for providing that information. Perhaps more telling, though, is what Spain had assumed before hearing Cox's comments:

"I thought that there had been at least one incident where fans were removed and it had been clear that there had been an incident," Spain said.

Which incident? What did the fan do? Where did she get that impression? Spain didn't identify the incident she had in mind or where she had heard about it, leaving listeners unable to check it against Cox's statement.

Instead, Spain argued that Cox needed to acknowledge why players and visiting fans might feel there was a problem. So, even after presenting information that challenged the accusations against her fans, Cox still owed the people making those accusations a more accommodating response, according to Spain.

Later, while agreeing with guest Jordan Robinson's criticism, Spain said: "The defensiveness as opposed to the openness. Not we want to fix why people have the wrong idea. Instead, people have the wrong idea and we're mad at them."

Yes, Sarah. People can have the wrong idea, and the people they're talking about can be mad about it. Especially when those people have been repeatedly called racists and bigots.

Cox had already called for accountability for actual misconduct and cited the team's security records to defend her fans. Spain still wanted her to be more accommodating, but Cox's job isn't to make the people trashing her fans feel better about being challenged.

There's a bit of a Mandela Effect going on with the left-wing media and Fever fans. Allegations

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