Hilton employee who sent racial slur to WNBA star is fired

Hilton Grand Vacations has fired an employee who sent a racial slur via social media to Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray following the team's 109-75 loss to the Indiana Fever on Sunday.

Gray, 33, posted the message she received that included a racial slur on her Instagram story on Monday. 

"People act like we just make this s--- up," Gray added alongside the screenshot, according to CBS Sports. "And the audacity to tell us as athletes to 'shut up and dribble.'"

Hilton Grand Vacations said in a statement on Tuesday that the individual who messaged Gray is no longer employed with Hilton Grand Vacations.

"The person responsible for posting this information is no longer with the company," Hilton Grand Vacations said in a statement. "His behavior was in violation of multiple company policies and does not reflect our company's values in any way."

The Aces did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Gray posted on her Instagram story on Tuesday that she appreciated "all the messages, posts, emails" and other missives she had received. 

In March, the WNBA and its players' union agreed on a transformational new collective bargaining agreement. It sought to enhance security, improve technological support, reinforce mental health resources, enforce a stronger fan code of conduct and protect players through an anti-hate campaign.

But incidents of online harassment have continued to proliferate. Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams said she received hate messages that suggested she was to blame for a lost prop bet, according to CBS affiliate KLAS. Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas said she also received racial slurs and death threats after her fist made contact with Caitlin Clark's throat during an 111-109 win against the Fever. 

Thomas criticized WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert for not doing more to protect the league's players when she spoke with reporters in June at the team's practice facility.

"It's unfortunate that it's come to this over basketball," Thomas said at the time. "A lot of us — myself included — didn't even know the play took place until after the game. Now we're being painted as thugs. 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."

Clark and Fever coach Stephanie White have condemned the messages Thomas received, according to CBS Sports, with White saying that "as a whole, there's been so much more toxicity, racism, homophobia, straight-out nonsense, hate nonsense" surrounding the league that "is absolutely unacceptable."