LSU star apologizes to WNBA veterans after calling on them to retire

Alexis Morris waits for her name to be called during the 2023 WNBA Draft. (Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images)

Former LSU basketball star Alexis Morris apologized for her criticism of WNBA veterans, which included calling on players over the age of 35 to retire.

The 5-9 guard was selected in the 2023 draft by the Connecticut Sun but was waived by the team on May 10. A week later, as teams cut even more rookies before the start of the regular season, Morris took to Twitter to criticize older WNBA players for remaining in the league too long and taking up roster spots.

Morris, who won the 2023 NCAA title with LSU, argued in since-deleted tweets that if roster spots cannot be made available to the rookies then teams should “cut the vets.” Just 15 of this year’s 36 draftees made opening day rosters.

“The vets gotta know when to cut the net, and pass the torch bro,” she wrote. “If you knocking at 35, hang it up and I mean WIRED HANGER ‘Hang it up.’”

The rookie’s comments received swift backlash from WNBA players, which prompted Morris to apologize Thursday in an Instagram caption.

“To the veterans of the WNBA, please accept my sincerest apologies,” Morris wrote. “I never thought joining the W family would be easy, but now I understand just how hard it is to do that.

“My energy would have been better served directed toward league executives who have a say in expansion and other logistics. I look forward to celebrating your individual and collective careers and giving you all the flowers you deserve. I hope you can empathize and find it in your hearts to forgive me. I will continue to work hard in hopes of joining you all one day soon.”

Amid the WNBA’s roster crunch, Washington Mystics guard Natasha Cloud and others have called on the league to expand roster sizes or the number of teams to accommodate more players. The 12-team league caps rosters at 12 players, which means a maximum of 144 roster spots are available each season.

Morris apologized to WNBA fans as well, asking for forgiveness for herself and for support for the league as it grapples with its roster size dilemma.

“I ask for your forgiveness and support as I attempt to raise more awareness about some of the issues the league is facing,” she wrote. “It needs your support now more than ever. While I’m one of many to be affected by recent cuts, I understand that the issue is bigger than me.”