As the WNBA Season Begins, Online and Physical Safety Must Be a Priority — For Everyone
By Judy Selby | Founder, KNKRSM – How Champions Conquer Their Digital Edge

As the 2025 WNBA season tips off on May 16, the league stands at a pivotal juncture. This moment, which promises record viewership, rising fan engagement, and brand opportunities, also brings heightened risks concerning the online and physical safety of players. Mega stars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers, who command national attention both on and off the court, already have faced serious stalking and harassment issues in their young careers. And while the WNBA has made strides in addressing travel-related safety concerns—such as implementing full-time charter flights to reduce public exposure— the digital realm remains a vulnerable frontier.

While physical safety is always a top priority for teams and leagues, cybersecurity, data privacy, and digital risk must now be part of the conversation. Athletes are constantly online — sharing content, building brands, engaging with fans, and executing brand deals. That presence creates opportunity, but also makes them more vulnerable to:

• Hacking (social accounts, email, devices)

• Impersonation and spoofed accounts

• Identity theft, financial fraud, extortion, and blackmail

• Doxxing, physical risks, and location exposure

• Contract scams and phishing attempts disguised as endorsement offers

• Public relations nightmares stemming from manipulated or misinterpreted posts

That’s why we created KNKRSM (pronounced Conquer), How Champions Protect their Digital Edge, a new initiative powered by Selby Strategies. KNKRSM is designed to meet this seminal moment by providing practical, athlete-first education and tools around cyber safety, privacy, and digital brand and personal protection.

Our interactive workshops, tailored for schools, leagues, teams, and individual athletes, focus on:

• Understanding the current digital threat landscape

• Identifying cyber and digital risks in brand contracts

• Building proactive online safety habits

• Managing social media with security and reputation in mind

• Securing personal and intimate data from exposure or misuse

• Developing a personalized protection plans that meet individual behavior and lifestyle

• Creating protocols for responding to threats or breaches

• Strategies to protect against financial fraud and identity theft

• Insurance products to respond to cyber and privacy events

Athletes shouldn’t need to be cybersecurity experts — but they do need to understand the risks and have accessible and trusted guidance. The same way we train for strength, speed, and skill, we must now train for safety in a digital world.

The growth of women’s sports is something to celebrate — and protect. Let’s make sure our athletes have the resources they need to thrive safely, both on the court and online.

For more information on KNKRSM and how it can benefit your team or organization, please contact [email protected].