Fans seething at ‘diabolical’ WNBA YouTube error organisation took whole day to notice

The WNBA is continuing to grow in popularity though many fans were displeased with the league mislabeling two of its highlight videos, taking almost a full day to amend said errors

The WNBA took almost a full day to fix errors on its YouTube channel, though not before fans made their thoughts known.

With Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers, and other stars bringing in droves of fans every night, more eyes are on the league than ever before, as evidenced by a new viewership record being shattered. So massive has the league’s popularity grown that WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert claimed Clark is the “most popular athlete in America.”

However, with the league’s growing online presence comes hiccups, which were best exemplified Wednesday evening. The WNBA, like other professional leagues in the United States, typically posts game highlights some time after a particular matchup ends.

Two of those matchups Wednesday were the Golden State Valkyries taking on the Washington Mystics at home and the Los Angeles Sparks’ contest with the Mercury in Phoenix. After the conclusion of both games, the league posted highlights on its YouTube page.

However, the titles for both videos were mislabeled: The Mystics-Valkyries matchup was titled and described using text meant for the Sparks-Mercury game and vice versa. Fans looking to watch highlights of their beloved teams were quick to post their displeasure wth how the WNBA bungled the release of highlights for two of its popular franchises in the Sparks and Valkyries.

“Someone is sleeping on the job lol. The caption is Washington Mystics vs Golden State Valkyries (the sole reason why I clicked on it) while the clip is LAS vs PHX. Diabolical,” one fan wrote on the YouTube video supposedly highlighting Golden State’s first win in franchise history.

Another wrote: “Hey WNBA!! We are fans of the league & supporters of everything WNBA, but these type of mistakes shouldn’t happen. Measure twice to cut once. Double-check the simple things. It’s bad enough that we are just finally being taken serious in some capacity. Things like this take away from our credibility to the masses. #LetsDoBetterWNBA.”

Other fans just accepted that this was how the WNBA has been and were more disappointed by the attempt than upset. “Wnba never ceases to disappoint, title incorrect, ending cut, no box scores…I mean seriously?” a fan wrote while another added: “yeah [not going to lie] yall need to fire whoever is editing and posting these highlights, getting the wrong teams in the title is lazy.”

In the end, the titles and descriptions for both videos were corrected, though it took more than 16 hours for the league to get the memo and make the proper adjustments.

For now, YouTube videos having incorrect descriptions and titles may well be the least of the league’s concerns, especially as it continues to fight the racist attacks some of the league’s marquee players, like Reese, have received with the increase in viewership.

In recent weeks, the WNBA introduced the “No Hate for Space” initiative, aimed at curbing the attacks players have received. Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts spoke on the league’s new initiative as the 2025 season continues.

“I think this is a diverse league. It’s a league of predominantly African-American women. And we need to be a space that’s safe and that empowers everybody,” Roberts said.

“And I think there’s a lot of eyes on our league right now. And we need to make sure that we’re carrying that banner with seriousness and sincerity. So I think it’s a great campaign.”