Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton has been fined and suspended from attending the team’s next five home games, the WNBA confirmed to Fox News Digital.
The suspension and fine come after Keaton allegedly called a pair of teenage Sophie Cunningham fans “f—ing insane” during a game on Tuesday, independent Seattle-based journalist Brandi Kruse told Fox News Digital. Kruse was in the arena and accompanied the girls, who were there to watch Cunningham and the Indianaa Fever take on the Storm.
Cunningham addressed the incident involving Keaton in an X repost of Fox News Digital’s report late Wednesday night.
“I truly believe there is a safe space and love for EVERYBODY. Biological girls, biological boys, trans women, and trans men. Everyone is welcome at my table! You can disagree and still be kind. Bravo to those girls for standing up for what they believe. You’ll be hearing from me soon yay for gifts. Truly embarrassing of the co-owner. Unfortunately shows the type of leader she is,” Cunningham wrote.
Storm majority owner Ginny Gilder issued a statement Wednesday apologizing for the co-owner’s comments during the game.
“We are aware one of our co-owners made comments to two fans in attendance at last night’s game. We apologize that this happened. 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,” the statement read.
SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM RALLY ROCKS WNBA GAME AS ‘SAVE WOMEN’S SPORTS’ ACTIVISTS FACE COUNTERPROTEST
Two girls went to the game wearing XX-XY Athletics gear to celebrate Cunningham coming out in support of saving women’s sports, and even got to sit court-side. But the night took a dark turn, and now they are viral martyrs. The Storm put out an apology after a team co-owner allegedly shouted insults at the girls during the game. Additional footage, distributed by Fox News Digital, of them in a confrontation with another fan at the game has ignited further outrage.
The incident drew so much attention that famed “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling even cast judgment on the night that is bound to live in WNBA infamy.
Rowling and other prominent social media users amplified the girls’ account of the incident.
The night began with a rally outside Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle to celebrate Cunningham’s recent public stance.
A small group of counterprotesters supporting transgender inclusion also gathered outside the arena.
Kruse, who helped organize the event and went into the game to accompany the girls during portions of the night, said she saw Storm players make mocking gestures toward them. Separately, the girls alleged that Keaton approached them and used profane language.
“They were giving them thumbs down — like, to their faces,” Kruse said.
Kruse said the girls then told her that an older woman associated with the Storm had approached them, yelled at them and called them “f—ing insane.”
The girls later pointed out the woman sitting directly across from them beside Storm legend and team co-owner Sue Bird, according to Kruse. When Kruse alerted an arena security guard, she said the guard identified the woman as “one of the owners of the team.”
Kruse later identified the woman as Keaton, who has previously been publicly identified as a member of the Storm’s ownership group.
Kruse said she pressed security to confront the woman, arguing that the alleged conduct violated the arena’s code of conduct. Climate Pledge Arena prohibits abusive or obscene language and says violators may be ejected.
“Had this been any other fan under any other circumstances who swore at and called some teenage girls ‘f—ing insane’ until they cried, they would’ve been ejected,” Kruse said.
Kruse said one of the girls broke down in tears during the game after the alleged exchange.
“I look over at halftime, and she’s sobbing,” Kruse said. “They were so excited for those seats, like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see some of their favorite players. They stayed up the night before making signs.”
Kruse also claimed that the girls were not forced to put down their signs in support of Cunningham, despite online rumors, but that they chose to put them down after the alleged harassment.
“The report that they told the girls to put those signs away is not true,” Kruse said. “The girls put their signs away because of what happened with Celeste, and they just felt so scared and uncomfortable, they decided not to hold them anymore.”
Before the game, the Storm said it was aware of the planned demonstration and was “tracking it closely.” The team said it remained committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment for all guests.
Storm head coach Sonia Raman addressed the rally after the game but did not discuss the allegations involving the girls.
“We always want to be an area where people feel welcome coming into this building,” Raman said, adding that the organization coordinated with arena security. “From what I understand, that was successful.”
The comments came before Kruse publicly detailed the allegations involving the teenagers.
The Fever, meanwhile, distanced the organization and Cunningham from the rally. A team public relations representative interrupted when head coach Stephanie White was asked about the gathering during her postgame press conference.
“Neither our organization nor Sophie had any knowledge of this demonstration and no contact with its organizers,” the representative said.
The representative added that the Fever remained united around winning games and building its fan base before directing reporters back to basketball questions.
Neither Cunningham nor Clark was made available to reporters after the game. Mitchell and Monique Billings appeared beside White instead. When White was asked about the rally, she also said the team and its players were not aware of it and had not been in touch with the organizers.
