A Viral Moment, A Missed Opportunity
Why Aren't Latina WNBA Players Talking About Tres Leches?
The Tres Leches T-shirt WNBA player Sophie Cunningham wore when arriving at the Indiana Fever game against the Las Vegas Aces on June 22, 2025, went viral for its Spanish wordplay, but the WNBA's Latina players have remained notably silent about the cultural reference. That silence speaks volumes about an opportunity the league has yet to fully embrace: leveraging viral moments to spotlight the diverse talent that makes the WNBA exciting.
The play on words refers to a Latin American dessert made by pouring a milk mixture over cake and has caused quite the stir in the sports world. It has even influenced knock offs and copycat shirts. The Tres Leches phenomenon presents the WNBA with an opportunity to bridge cultural gaps and connect with Latino fans.
Notably absent from the conversation have been the league's Latina players like Celeste Taylor and Leilani Correa who are Clark’s teammates, Kamilla Cardoso and Esmery Martinez, among others. This silence raises questions about how the league positions its diverse talent and whether Latina players feel empowered to engage with cultural moments that directly reference their heritage. Cunningham, Caitlin Clark and Lexie Hull, the three featured on the shirt, are non-Latinas who do not speak Spanish. Tres Leches, Spanish for three milks, is a nod to the trio’s tight bond on and off the court.
The irony is striking. While three non-Latina players inadvertently created a viral moment based on Latino culture, the league's actual Latina stars—who hail from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Brazil—remain on the sidelines of their own cultural conversation.
The WNBA would be smart to use the popularity of the Spanish reference to promote the diversity within the league and the Latinas who play in it. In the past, the league has made some targeted efforts to connect with Latino fans, but they've been scattered and limited in scope. For example, the Minnesota Lynx hired Alfonso Fernandez to broadcast games in Spanish. Fernandez is known for calling games in Spanish for the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers and Rams. The team has also hosted events celebrating Latino culture, aiming to make basketball more accessible and relevant to Latino fans in the Midwest, particularly Southern Minnesota and Central and Northern Iowa.
These efforts, while meaningful, pale in comparison to the organic cultural moment the Tres Leches shirt created. The difference is authenticity versus strategy: viral cultural moments feel genuine in ways that scheduled heritage nights often do not.
The league now faces a choice: treat this as a fleeting social media moment or recognize it as a blueprint for deeper cultural engagement. With Latinas already on rosters across the league, the authentic connections exist. The question is whether the WNBA will create space for those voices to be heard and celebrated.
As copycat shirts flood the market and the viral moment fades, the WNBA has a narrow window to transform momentary buzz into lasting associations. Tres Leches has already taught a powerful lesson: cultural connections drive engagement more powerfully than any marketing campaign. The league's Latina players have been providing that authenticity all along. What they need now is the willingness to celebrate them as enthusiastically as it celebrated a viral t-shirt, and the courage to let their Latina stars lead the conversation.
This publication is a member of the Iowa Writers Collective.