WNBA Star Brittney Griner is someone who is not afraid to express herself. Regardless of what the world says about her, she is bold and confident in whatever she does. In fact, Brittney Griner even did a photo shoot in 2015 for ESPN The Magazine where she posed nude to show her detractors that she’s not ashamed of her body. And that same shoot was part of an intriguing conversation in a highly popular article.

There has been a lot of research done in the WNBA to increase its popularity and ticket sales. And the league has adopted the approach where it lets women express themselves in their preferred way. In addition, they also found out that sexualizing women athletes can have a negative impact on the fanbase’s perception of the game. On the contrary, highlighting their skills lead to much better results and an uptick in the popularity of the sport.

However, when the league adopted a new approach, there was a lot of scrutiny and negative effects.

After seeing Brittney Griner and 0ther stars in shoots, many questioned their abilities

The league adopted a new approach where they let their stars do their own shoots in athletic clothes. This was after research suggested that when stars showcase their fit, there was a significant increase in interest. So the league thought the same.

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However, further academic research showed that this actually undercut the public perception of their skill-levels. The relevant source stated, ” If you show Andy Roddick in his underwear, and then ask people about his athletic abilities, his scores are much lower than if you have him on the court.”

“But we do that with women all the time,” the article added.

Research showed that if you display athletes the same way to sell tickets, as they are shown in commercials, it just doesn’t work.? In the past, the advertisements were designed in a way that doesn’t develop a very suitable image of the player in the fan’s mind.

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As a result, Brittney Griner and other WNBA stars have been given the freedom to express themselves freely. The league has not tried to curtail the players’ freedom of expression since then.

What changes do you think are necessary to make women’s sports more popular? Let us know your thoughts below.