Jemele Hill came to the defense of Las Vegas Aces star forward A’ja Wilson following the fan confrontation in Game 2 on Tuesday night.
The former ESPN star took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to make it clear that she could understand why Wilson reacted how she did.
“What just happened with A’ja Wilson and that Indiana fan? Whatever was said, it set A’ja off and she usually doesn’t react like that,” she wrote.
“He pointed at her and walked toward her, and she let it be known that she is not the one or the two.”
In a Threads post, Hill doubled down, making it clear that past fan behavior at games could have led to this.
Hill wrote on Threads:
“While A’ja could have handled it better and I’m sure it was partially fueled by the frustration losing, let’s look at the broader context: The W has had to deal with men showing up dressed as women to mock them. Men throwing dildos on the court creating an unsafe environment. Can’t blame the players for being on high alert,” Hill posted, referring to the Enes Kanter incident in Chicago.
Wilson defends her behavior following Game 2, as well
Wilson has made it clear that she will not tolerate being disrespected.
“I don’t really get into the (expletive). I try to play my game. But if I’m just walking and I just got the foul, I’m chilling. If I see a man coming at me, taking steps toward me and pointing at me. I don’t give a damn what you said. I don’t give a damn how you said, the tone. That is unacceptable,” Wilson said.
“You don’t step towards me. You should never step and point at me. I’m not for that (expletive)… that there is unacceptable. They said he didn’t do anything and that’s fine. … There’s certain things I’m not going to allow because it’s unacceptable. You don’t know me at all to step toward me and say anything.”
Game 3 of the playoff series will return to Las Vegas. It’s set for Thursday night at 9 p.m. E.T.
