Michael Porter Jr. sat down with WNBA veteran Lexie Brown to address his controversial comments about women’s basketball, apologizing for how some of his remarks came across while diving into the WNBA’s growth, Caitlin Clark and more.
Michael Porter Jr. has spent plenty of time in the spotlight over the past year because of his opinions on the WNBA. On the latest episode of his Curious Mike podcast, Porter sat down with WNBA veteran Lexie Brown to address some of those comments head-on.
The conversation began with Porter apologizing for the way some of his past comments came across, particularly to Brown and other WNBA players.
“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,” Porter said.
Porter explained that he has always been willing to give his honest opinion when someone asks him a question. However, he admitted that he has not always thought about how those comments might be received by the people hearing them.
Brown had previously criticized some of Porter’s comments, but said the two had already spoken about the situation after running into each other in person. She also acknowledged that clips shared on social media did not always include the full context of what Porter was saying.
One of the biggest topics they revisited was Porter’s suggestion that lowering the rims could make the WNBA more exciting and potentially increase viewership.
Brown pushed back on that idea, explaining that lowering the rim would force players to change skills they have spent their entire careers developing while ultimately benefiting only a small portion of the league.
Brown also addressed Porter referring to WNBA players as “females.” She explained that the word can have a derogatory connotation depending on the context in which it is used.
Porter said he had always viewed the term as respectful, but understood Brown’s perspective after hearing her explain why she felt differently.
From there, the conversation expanded into a broader discussion about the WNBA and the way the league is viewed compared to the NBA.
Brown argued that comparing the two leagues directly misses the point. The NBA and WNBA have different styles of play, different histories and different audiences, and she believes fans should be able to appreciate the WNBA for what it is rather than constantly comparing it to the men's game.
Porter and Brown also discussed the WNBA’s financial growth and the league’s new collective bargaining agreement.
Brown revealed that she made approximately $40,000 during her rookie WNBA season and immediately went overseas because she could not realistically support herself on that salary.
She also explained why WNBA players had significantly more leverage during the latest CBA negotiations. The growth of women's basketball, the emergence of NIL and the rise of offseason leagues such as Unrivaled and Athletes Unlimited have given players more options and increased their bargaining power.
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese were also major topics during the conversation.
Brown pushed back on the idea that WNBA players are jealous of Clark, instead describing Clark and her fellow rookies as “gamechanging” for the league.
Clark's arrival brought an unprecedented amount of attention to the WNBA, but Brown pointed out that the increased spotlight also meant that every controversy surrounding Clark received significantly more attention.
Porter and Brown also talked about athlete safety, particularly when it comes to sports betting and social media.
Porter revealed that a large portion of his direct messages come from people who are angry about losing bets. Brown said she has taken steps to limit how much of that negativity she sees herself.
Later in the episode, Brown opened up about her own experience with social media and her WNBA career.
She said she stopped creating YouTube content after being waived by the Minnesota Lynx without receiving an explanation from the team. Brown said she found out about the decision through her agent and ultimately decided that protecting her basketball career was more important than continuing to create content.
Her experience tied into another topic that came up throughout the conversation: how athletes can express themselves publicly while also dealing with the expectations that come with being professional athletes.
Porter acknowledged that he has changed the way he approaches sharing his opinions.
He still believes people should be able to disagree with one another, but said he has learned that not every opinion needs to be shared publicly. He also said there are better ways to communicate thoughts that could be considered controversial.
Rather than spending the entire episode defending his previous comments, Porter and Brown actually took the time to talk through them.
They did not agree on everything, but both were able to explain where they were coming from. The two also joked about some of the controversy and appeared to leave the conversation with a better understanding of each other's perspectives.
For Porter, that seemed to be the point of bringing Brown onto Curious Mike in the first place.
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