Seattle Storm minority owner Celeste Keaton is being accused of treating two fans harshly during Tuesday night's game against the Indiana Fever.
Two female fans sitting courtside at Climate Pledge Arena were holding a sign thanking Sophie Cunningham for "speaking up for girls." This was in response to Cunningham's remarks about transgender athletes competing in women's sports.
“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans,” Cunningham told ESPN. “And I’m like, ‘I never once said that.’ I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
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According to the young fans sitting courtside, Keaton walked up to them and lectured them over their gameday signs.
"Well, we were just sitting there with our signs that said like, 'We love Sophie,' like, 'Thank you Sophie for speaking up.' And so we were holding on, just watching the game, again, like, we were being super great, we hadn't said anything to anyone else, we were being super respectful, we were just holding our signs and cheering for both teams, and this lady, older lady comes up to us," one of the girls said. "That just took me by surprise because I thought she was going to be nice and then she starts like screaming at us and cussing at us."
Apparently, Keaton called the girls "f---ing insane" for supporting Cunningham while wearing XX-XY Athletics shirts.
An apology has already been issued.
Storm majority owner Ginny Gilder spoke to Front Office Sports about this alleged encounter.
"We are aware one of our co-owners made comments to two fans in attendance at least night's game. We apologize that this happened," Gilder said. "Everyone who attends a Storm game deserves to feel welcome, and we remain committed to creating an inclusive environment where every fan is treated with respect."
Keaton has not yet addressed these allegations. We'll see if a statement is released before Friday's game against the Atlanta Dream.
