The Unsettling Rise of Stalking In Sports + WNBA Showing Postseason Vibes

Zena and Sabreena take stock of a historic WNBA weekend, including A’ja Wilson, Paige Bueckers, and Kelsey Plum all reaching individual milestones while the Golden State Valkyries set a record for the most wins by an expansion team. They also get into the latest injury news out of Indiana. Then, senior investigative writer Carson Kessler joins Zena and Sabreena to discuss The Athletic’s latest investigative series on stalking in sports. Carson explains how this project came to be and the trio explore a variety of topics including: the frequency of stalkers and why those numbers might be underreported, what stalking looks like in the digital age, and how colleges and leagues can protect their athletes going forward. Finally, Zena and Sabreena debut “Explain the Game”, where they answer a listener question about how something in the WNBA works. REFERENCES: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6543019/2025/08/12/athlete-stalking-cases-wnba-tennis-nfl-college-sports/ https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6559705/2025/08/18/wnba-power-rankings-golden-state-valkyries-record/ 00:00 Intro 00:39 More history being made in the WNBA 01:52 Intense competition and post season vibes 03:15 The challenge ahead for the NY Liberty 03:48 The Fever deal with another injury 04:38 How do the Fever fill in the missing pieces? 05:44 What’s going on with the Sparks on defense? 10:55 Investing stalking in sports 12:41 Why are so many stalking incidents unreported? 14:27 The stalking case of Kiki Rice 17:21 What's the effectiveness of protection orders? 23:15 Gender dynamics in stalking 25:20 What preventive measures are being taken around leagues in sports? 30:23 Listener question - Is Cameron Brink technically a rookie? #wnba #fever #playersafety Thumbnail: Ethan Miller via Getty Images Follow and listen to the audio podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/no-offseason-the-athletic-womens-basketball-show/id1699815468 Leave a comment wherever you’re listening, or email us at NoOffseason@TheAthletic.com. You can also find us on socials: -Instagram: @tanooffseason -TikTok: @no_offseason -Zena on BlueSky: @zenakeita -Ben on BlueSky: @benpickman -Sabreena on BlueSky: @sabreenajm -Chantel on BlueSky: @chanteljennings Visit the Yahoo Women's Sports Hub: https://sports.yahoo.com/womens-sports/?guccounter=1 Full Episodes Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5UWQzuMYdm7txmok7cpMB3YlgkwrT2E0 Shorts Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5UWQzuMYdm72uhBjsd24rsh5teZtgUpS