- WNBA star Aerial Powers spent part of the offseason beating up men in pick-up games at the 24 Hour Fitness gym.
- Several videos she posted of her igniting a competition at a local gym went viral on social media.
- Powers told an insider that she likes beating up men who “talk crap” and “have no respect for women’s basketball.”
Aerial Powers have taken an unconventional approach to the 2022 WNBA season.
And the Minnesota Lynx star went viral with it.
Now in his fifth season in the WNBA, the 5-foot-11 forward has spent part of the last seven months playing pick-up games with men at his local gym. She refused to back down on anyone questioning her hooping abilities based on her gender, and several times filmed her schooling men who “talk junk about us not respecting women’s basketball.” Did.
Power.
AP Photo/Bruce Crackhorn
“I love it,” Powers told the insider with a grin. “There are a lot of guys out there who don’t see us as athletes. They see us as just women trying to play basketball.”
At the USA Basketball camp in Minneapolis in the spring, Powers looked back on one of the first clips he shared to social media. She recalled that she only wanted to go to her 24 Hour Fitness and “do some cardio,” but her “competitiveness” took over as soon as she jumped into the game.
“That’s how I was raised,” Powers said. “That means I play with the boys every day at 6pm in Detroit, Michigan. Put that in there.”
Powers passes practice players at USA Basketball Camp.
AP Photo/Eric Gay
This video, which has been viewed over 500,000 times on TikTok, shows the 2019 WNBA champion scoring after another as the opposing team’s men helplessly try to protect her. According to Powers’ own account, one man on her other team was so frustrated with her control that he tried to protect her himself, and when that didn’t work, he tried to fight her. did.
“The guy started — I’m going to be frank — he started talking shit,” Powers said. I have to show him.’ And since no one on the team could protect me, the video went viral.
She went on to say, “Some other videos on TikTok have gone crazy.”
She hits him repeatedly, sinking shots and taunting him for being “too small.” This clip has her 880,000 views on TikTok.
Powers insisted he wasn’t going out on the court looking for trouble. But when a man insults her just because she’s a woman, she doesn’t hesitate to take their word for it.
“Most of the Hoopers who play basketball know we got it and don’t talk shit,” Powers said. We don’t follow us just to do it.”
But when it comes to “those people” conduct Speaking smack in Instagram comments and Twitter mentions, Powers says, “We got something for them.” And she has a TikTok audience ready to devour it.
Empower the crowd.
AP Photo/Andy Clayton-King
Powers will soon face legitimate competition when the WNBA season ends on Friday. She and the Lynx will kick off the season on opening day at 10pm ET against the Seattle Storm.
