This story originally appeared on Them.
The Hilton Grand Vacations timeshare company announced earlier this week that an employee who allegedly sent a racial slur to WNBA player Chelsea Gray on social media had been fired, as the Associated Press confirmed Wednesday.
“The person responsible for posting this information is no longer with the company,” Hilton Grand Vacations wrote in a statement. “His behavior was in violation of multiple company policies and does not reflect our company's values in any way.”
Gray, a guard for the Las Vegas Aces, had posted the racist message on Instagram Stories on July 13, the day after her team’s 109-75 loss to the Indiana Fever. The racist message contained the N-word and called Gray “ugly,” in addition to other insults.
“This was a message I received after our game vs Indy yesterday,” Gray wrote alongside a screenshot of the message. “People act like we make this shit up. And the audacity to tell us as athletes to ‘shut up and dribble.”
Gray, who is openly gay and married to former collegiate player Tipesa Gray, posted again to Instagram Stories following the news of the individual’s firing. “I’m grateful for my teammates and everyone who has shown support over the past few days,” she wrote. “Moments like this remind me of how much strength there is in people coming together. The hate directed at me and so many other Black athletes is one of the many ways systemic racism shows up in our lives. But as athletes, there is real power in calling it out and naming it, and we have a real opportunity to create change collectively when we do so.”
The Las Vegas Aces also posted a message of support for Gray on social media on Wednesday, commending Hilton Grand Vacations for “the swift manner in which they acted in addressing this matter.”
pic.twitter.com/lIDCKXymVn
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) July 15, 2026
“The Las Vegas Aces organization unequivocally condemns the hateful and racist messages recently directed at Chelsea Gray” the statement read in part. “We do not tolerate hate speech of any type, whether it’s online, in the arena, or anywhere within our community.”
Gray is not the first Black player to report encountering racist invective after fouling Caitlin Clark, an Indiana Fever guard with a significant fanbase from her time in the NCAA that has followed her to the WNBA. Clark, who is white, was fouled by Alyssa Thomas in a June 24 game; officials later deemed the contact between Thomas’ fist and Clark’s neck a flagrant foul and suspended Thomas for one game.
In comments reported by ESPN on June 30, Thomas, who is an out lesbian, said that many people “didn’t even know the play took place until after the game,” sharing that she had received death threats and racial slurs afterward. “Now we’re being painted as thugs,” the Phoenix Mercury forward continued. “There’s death threats out on us. It’s really unacceptable. It’s something that needs to change in this league, and I’m just really sick and tired of it.”
Sports Business Journal, which cited multiple sources close to the decision-making, reported earlier this week WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert only decided to suspend Thomas at the urging of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver — a characterization that the WNBA called “absolutely false” in a statement to the outlet.
Gray and Clark had a moment of contact in the second quarter of the July 12 game. As People noted, Gray’s elbow made contact with Clark’s midsection while drawing a foul. The common foul against Clark ultimately stood.
The discourse around Clark’s presence in the league and the racism hurled at players who foul her has grown increasingly charged in recent weeks. As Seerat Sohi, host of The Ringer WNBA Show noted in a June commentary, “every argument about Clark feels like a cultural Rorschach test.”
Clark herself has condemned abuse directed at other players. “The harassment, the hate. None of that is OK…” Clark told ESPN. “There should never be [a] question of character like I’ve always stood up here and said that, and that’s truly what I believe, that’s how I was raised. So, none of that is okay and I don’t want anyone to experience that."
During a Wednesday night game against the Golden State Valkyries, Clark confronted a referee over her officiating, and continued that criticism in a post-game presser.
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