"Her parents poisoned her brain" - Jason Whitlock slams A'ja Wilson's claims regarding her struggles for recognition in WNBA

Connecticut Sun v Las Vegas Aces - Source: Getty
Jason Whitlock slams A'ja Wilson's claims regarding her struggles for recognition in WNBA (Credit: Getty)

Veteran analyst Jason Whitlock blasted Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson after her interview with ESPN went viral. The sports commentator rejected Wilson's comments, denying that she is from a generation where kids had to try harder to accomplish their goals.

In the interview, Wilson claimed she felt she needed to work much harder to achieve recognition.

"I mean for us, as Black women, we grew up, a lot of time, with our parents telling us, 'You got to work 10 times as hard just to get a foot in the door, let alone to stand out'. I felt that more this year than ever," Wilson said in her interview.

Whitlock called out these remarks in his show, saying that Wilson doesn't belong to a generation where what she said applies.

"A'ja Wilson, who's maybe 28 years old, she didn't grow up in a time when you had to be 10 times as good to get half the credit or an equal amount of credit. And she doesn't even contend that. What she's contending is that her parents poisoned her brain with bad information and made her feel like, 'Oh my god, the world is out to get you and despite your effort, you're only gonna get half the acclaim and credit that you deserve'. That's a myth that her parents put in her head.

Moreover, he said that what worked for the prior generations didn't have the same effect on his generation, let alone A'ja's.

"My parents, well-intentioned, repeated to me what was told to them, which was true about them and their generation. It was not true about me and my generation. And it damn sure isn't true about A'ja Wilson and her generation. We're poisoning the minds of young people. We're telling them, 'Prepare yourself. We're gonna let yourself out of this cacoon and you're going to be a victim.'"

A'ja Wilson was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft and ever since she made it to the league, she hasn't stopped playing at a high level. After six years, she's a three-time MVP, two-time WNBA champion, two-time DPOY and the 2018 Rookie of the Year.

A'ja Wilson reveals Aces' mentality in quest for first 3-peat since Comets

In the same interview, A'ja Wilson explained the Aces' mentality as they are still alive and fighting for a third consecutive WNBA championship. The veteran center said that her teammates are aware that they've become the villains in the league and aren't shying away from that notion.

That said, after two years at the top, the competition has seemingly caught up with them.

Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces are set to resume their second-round series against the New York Liberty tonight when the matchup moves to Michelob ULTRA Arena. After losing the first two games of the series, the defending back-to-back champions are on the brink of being eliminated.

Quick Links

Edited by Akshay Saraswat
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
More
More
bell-icon Manage notifications