‘It was done to provoke a reaction’: Ursula weighs in on controversy behind Seattle Storm co-owner’s suspension

The WNBA has suspended a minority owner of the Seattle Storm, Celeste Keaton, after comments she made to two fans during a game against the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night.

Keaton allegedly told the two girls they were “f****** insane” as they were sitting courtside wearing XX-XY Athletics shirts and holding a sign supporting Sophie Cunningham, who recently spoke out about the “common sense” regarding female athletes not playing “against biological men.”

Co-host Ursula Reutin and fill-in host Angela Poe Russell applauded the apology from the Seattle Storm and agreed with the suspension the WNBA handed down, though they both thought the two girls were placed in those seats to provoke a reaction out of a fanbase that is widely known to be inclusive to everyone.

“I think the WNBA did the right thing on this, and it sounds like the Seattle Storm did as well,” Angela said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “Issuing that public apology, even though we may disagree on various issues and obviously we sort of have certain boundaries in terms of how we protest. I think an owner confronting teen girls and saying what was said was just not okay. We all come together whether it’s music or sporting events, and hopefully we bond around that one thing, and we’re going to have diverse views.”

Ursula believes the teens were used to stir controversy at the Seattle Storm game

Ursula noted Cunningham has become the center of the movement to keep biological boys and girls in their respective sports leagues, and the two girls were the latest political pawns to further that agenda.

“The team, first of all, I think regrets that this is in the news right now because this is a team that takes great pride in trying to be as inclusive as possible,” Ursula said. “I will also say that there has been a lot of push from certain groups to make Sophie Cunningham the center of this controversy. I think the girls were used. I mean, putting the girls right there on the front row.”

Keaton was suspended from attending the Seattle Storm’s next five home games due to her comments, and the WNBA has fined the team, noting it is expected to uphold league standards for respectful conduct toward fans.

Aside from the suspension, Angela questioned whether the shirts the two girls were wearing could be seen as a form of harassment, and used as a way to provoke other attendees.

“Is it harassment though to come to a game wearing a shirt that said what it said to a group of diverse women on the court for them to see?” Angela asked. “There are shirts that you can wear that can just be a form of harassment, and would you consider that shirt to be a form of harassment?”

“I think some people would think it’s a form of harassment,” Ursula responded. “I also think putting them in the front row, up in front, it’s not OK. It wasn’t cool. It was essentially done to provoke a reaction, and that’s exactly what it did. It provoked a reaction.”

Angela explained why she believed wearing the shirts could be a form of harassment, knowing that a majority of people in the stadium held opposing views.

“I believe in protesting, but when you come to a game where you know there’s a lot of diversity in there, the LGBTQ community loves going to the WNBA, and you wear a shirt like that, it to me feels like harassment,” Angela said. “It feels like you’re trying to hurt me. It’s intentional, and that’s not love. To wear a shirt like that, it’s ignorant.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.