The WNBA‘s meteoric rise up the American sports pecking order has brought about numerous debates and even controversies over women’s basketball. Players like Caitlin Clark, Cameron Brink, and Angel Reese all entered the league in 2024 and quickly proved worth the price of admission — although Reese and Brink both ended the season with serious injuries.

Still, the arrival of a women’s sports league in a major way into the American sports consciousness has led to a reckoning as to how the country views female athletes, and the WNBA has challenged viewer’s perceptions of how women’s basketball is played — WNBA games are gritty, intense, and guided by some of the world’s most talented athletes. However, Brink and Reese have dealt with plenty of noise off the court that Brink — the second overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft — finally needed to address.

Brink has had enough of the speculation

Amidst the excitement of Brink’s Los Angeles Sparks acquiring star guard Kelsey Plum from the Las Vegas Aces, the former Stanford star had to address rumors linking her to NBA superstar Jimmy Butler — who is currently suspended from the Miami Heat as he seeks a trade.

Though Brink is engaged to former Stanford rower Ben Felter, she spoke recently on her “Straight to Cam” podcast about the harmful rumors linking her to Butler — with whom there never has been a romantic attachment, merely admiration for the way the six-time NBA All-Star plays the game.

“I know Angel goes through the same stuff. Okay? It’s like we’re always, nothing can just be professional,” Brink lamented. “It can just be so weird.”

Indeed, Reese too has been subject to many “out of pocket” rumors about her personal life. During her time with the LSU Tigers, Reese was even subjected to death threats online, and her “rivalry” with Clark turned many new WNBA fans against her.

But Brink, Reese, and other WNBA stars have made it clear they are here to stay in the United States’ sports pecking order — no matter the amount of hearsay thrown their way.