Smith then turned his attention to the right, accusing conservatives of maneuvering through the controversy for political advantage. Smith's larger point: The WNBA left the door open for its political opponents to walk right through it. "It doesn’t negate the fact that the WNBA left the door open for it to happen. Smith blamed the right for exploiting the controversy while simultaneously arguing that the WNBA made itself vulnerable to that exploitation. But Smith's attempt to blame the right for politicizing the controversy also served his broader criticism of the WNBA.