By admin 
After A’ja Wilson played 37 of the Las Vegas Aces’ first 40 regular-season games, her sudden battle with back issues and subsequent absence from the 2026 FIBA World Cup raised plenty of questions.
With Team USA facing what appears to be one of its biggest challenges in years, some theories began circulating online that Wilson had intentionally stepped away. As calls grew for Caitlin Clark to be the 2026 WNBA MVP frontrunner, even former ESPN analysts like Linda Cohn boldly proclaimed that A’ja’s “jealousy” could have played a role in her taking time off and in her desire to prove her value over the Indiana Fever guard.
Will Team USA miss Aja Wilson?? Or will Wilson regret not playing thru her “health reasons” to help Caitlin Clark and company. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/JMZsQzIPUV
— Linda Cohn (@lindacohn) September 4, 2026
However, veteran sports journalist Jemele Hill believes the narrative surrounding A’ja is part of a much bigger problem. According to Hill, it is nothing new to witness black women portrayed as jealous or threatened when they compete with white women who receive significant attention, deeming that long-standing stereotype as unfair and prejudiced.
Hill wholeheartedly defends Wilson and other black women
Additionally, Jemele pointed to what she believes is a double standard in the way WNBA players are spoken of when they compete against Caitlin.
When white opponents compete against Clark, it is generally viewed as healthy competition, but when black players like Angel Reese speak about wanting their contributions to the league’s growth to be recognized, or when a four-time MVP in A’ja competes hard against Caitlin on the court, the conversation almost instantly turns towards jealousy.
As a result, Hill consciously clarified that Clark’s arrival did not create women’s basketball from scratch. Instead, the three-time All-Star stepped into a league that had been built over decades by numerous black athletes who helped establish the WNBA as a professional product.
“That idea of ‘jealousy’ that keeps permuting in the WNBA is that you have black players that have jealousy from Caitlin Clark,” Hill said. “It’s funny how certain people compete against Caitlin Clark; it’s just competing. Just because it was certain black players said, ‘Hey, we get that Clark is special, but don’t use her to erase what black women have done for this league.’ Because black women stood against their own erasure, that got twisted into ‘they’re jealous.’”
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Jemele hill talks about the racial undertones these reporters like Linda Cohn use when they say A’ja Wilson has some level of insecurity toward Caitlin Clark and whether that could be a reason she isn’t playing in the FIBA World Cup. pic.twitter.com/rI3zDFcxbR
— NBA Hoops (@Thechat101) September 8, 2026
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The trend worries Hill
Lastly, the 50-year-old media veteran drew on her own experience to explain just how difficult it is for black women to follow their hearts’ desires, as they constantly face stereotypes.
Thus, Jemele highlighted how her new “blonde” look is constantly mocked online, as if it belongs exclusively to a particular race.
“They’re not saying the thing that they really wanna say. There is this racial trope that black women are jealous of white women. That we want to be them, emulate them,” Hill said. “If I change my hair color to black tomorrow, am I trying to be Latino? Why is there only a conversation about ‘trying to be white?’ There is this constant trope that black women want to be embraced like white women.”
That being said, clearly Hill’s defense of Wilson is therefore about more than one player or one MVP race. She wants the conversation around black women in the WNBA to move away from assumptions of jealousy and personal bickering towards recognizing their accomplishments and efforts.
Related: “Daring Clark to prove it” – Jason Whitlock claimed A’ja Wilson intentionally skipped World Cup
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This story was originally published September 9, 2026 at 1:29 AM.