Dawn Staley watched Aliyah Boston play in person this past weekend and continues to support the second-year Indiana Fever player after coaching her in college at South Carolina.

South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley publicly defended former player Aliyah Boston, now a member of the Indiana Fever, amid negative social media commentary surrounding her recent WNBA performances.

Boston missed a late shot near the basket during Indiana’s loss to the Connecticut Sun on Monday after briefly deleting her social media accounts due to hate she’d received in prior games. Staley wrote afterward, “And I’m still going to give the ball to [Aliyah Boston]!! Believe that!”

The post player was taken No. 1 overall in the 2023 WNBA Draft and is a cornerstone piece in the Fever’s rebuild. However, she’s under increased scrutiny following the arrival of Caitlin Clark and millions of new viewers. Even before this season, she warned of the wrong turn women’s basketball fandom is at risk of taking.

Last month, Boston revealed that a social media account on X was created solely to troll her, with the profile’s banner image a picture of her crying after a Final Four loss to Stanford in 2021. She received hate from the account while working as an ESPN analyst during the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

“At some point we have to accept the fact that this isn’t fan bases vs fan bases this is pure hatred in peoples hearts,” Boston wrote on X. “I clicked on a person’s profile today because they were being disrespectful… and their banner was a picture of me crying after Stanford loss.

“And it’s weird that they have so much hate in their hearts because after that Stanford loss I was a natty champ, multi-defensive POY, #1 pick in the wnba draft, Roy, and more. But yet people are praying on other peoples downfall.”

Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston are still figuring each other out on the court. ( 
Image:
Getty Images)
“At the end of the day we are humans and we are ALL trying to make it,” she added. “Most of y’all that are hating haven’t been blessed with the skills that we have and that may be a big reason that you are hating but it has to stop. Why can’t we all shine?”

“This is more than healthy competition at this point. We are trying to grow the game and this is not the best way of doing it. Stop hating and just support. Also when you see people just tweeting nonsense don’t engage because they are looking for clicks and attention.”

Indiana has started its 2024 season with four consecutive losses, most recently dropping a close game to the Sun after holding a late fourth-quarter lead. Boston continues to search for the standard she set as a rookie when she averaged 14 points and 8.3 rebounds per game en route to an All-Star appearance.

There’s been an adjustment process as Boston and Clark learn how to play off one another. Clark never played with such a dominant big in college, while Boston is still figuring out the best strategy for making an impact alongside a historically high-volume perimeter shooter.