the WNBA/pop culture crossover moment that lives rent free in my head

remember when candice wiggins retired from the WNBA, said she was bullied by other players for being straight, & then went on mtv's 'the challenge?'

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Today I want to talk about the intersection of two of my favorite things: MTV’s The Challenge and the WNBA.

The Challenge is currently airing the 40th season of its flagship show but it has had several spinoff versions over the years. In 2017, they did a mini-season called The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros where Challenge champions faced off against professional athletes to win money for charity (this evolved into Champs vs Stars, which changed the format to “Challenge finalists vs various celebrities” and ran for two more seasons).

The second season of this show gave us one of my favorite scenes in reality tv history, where five-time Challenge champ (and winner of Traitors season 2) CT Tamburello confronts former NFL player Terrell Owens so spectacularly that TO leaves the show. If you have never seen the show, here is a clip of that scene. You’re welcome.

@tanyaray_foxThe wideshot of this cast is my Last Supper. #sports #thechallenge #mtv #terrellowens

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But that is not why we are here today. We are here to talk about Candace Wiggins. Specifically, we are here to talk about when she retired from the WNBA, made a bunch of comments about how she was bullied during her time in the league for being straight, and then appeared on The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros only to be eliminated in the very first episode.