Season two of the American edition of the hit reality competition show The Traitors airs its finale on Thursday night. Both seasons have featured celebrities, including athletes.
For those unfamiliar with the game, roughly twenty people are invited to a castle in Scotland to play what is essentially a massive version of the party game Mafia for a $250,000 prize. The players are known as the Faithful. Hidden amongst them are three Traitors, who “murder” (eliminate) a player every night on their quest to make it to the end undetected.
Every night there’s a Round Table, where the players vote to “banish” the player they think is a Traitor. If at the end of the game, all the Traitors are voted out, the Faithful split the prize. If even one Traitor makes it to the end, they take all of the money.
Three male athletes have been featured on the show, but no women’s sports athletes have graced the halls of the Traitors castle yet. It’s time to fix that. Here is a murderers’ row (pun intended) of women’s sports athletes that would be worthy additions to any Traitors cast.
Emily Sonnett - Gotham FC
Emily Sonnett has all the makings of a legendary Traitors player: she’s witty, has incredibly expressive facial expressions, and can play the long game. While Sonnett would be an amazing Faithful for those reasons, it would be even more entertaining to see her play as a Traitor.
Sonnett would likely be underestimated by her fellow players because of her easy-going, fun-loving demeanor. Unfortunately for them, she’s actually quite intelligent and can get down to business when it counts. If selected as a Traitor, Sonnett would take the role as seriously as possible, which would make her fellow Traitors’ reactions to her television gold.
Her years-long joke on teammate Lindsey Horan is solid evidence that she would be an excellent Traitor. Along with co-conspirator Rose Lavelle, the two convinced Horan that Lavelle was “obsessed” with Sketchers footwear and was going to receive custom cleats from them as part of a sponsorship deal. If Sonnett can convince her friend of a totally outlandish story and keep the joke hidden for a few years, she can certainly play a long con for a month in The Traitors.
Kelley O’Hara - Gotham FC
“We need a bitch. Get Kelley.” These words, spoken by former US coach Jill Ellis, perfectly encapsulate what would make Kelley O’Hara fantastic television. She’s unafraid to voice her opinion, she’s incredibly competitive and gets too fired up on occasion. These aspects of her personality would lead her to be a truly great Faithful.
One needs only to look at this excerpt from O’Hara’s deposition in the US women’s national team’s equal pay lawsuit to understand what makes Kelley O’Hara special:
Whether she’s right or wrong in her conclusions, O’Hara will always be one hundred percent confident in her words. If she correctly identifies a Traitor, her speech to the other players at the Round Table would be epic. If she’s strong and wrong, even better. No matter how far she goes, Kelley O’Hara would be an incredibly entertaining Faithful.
Diana Taurasi - Phoenix Mercury
Ask the infamous Wintrust Arena door how much Diana Taurasi hates to lose. Competitive, quick-witted, and argumentative, Taurasi could give any Housewife a run for their money at the Traitors Round Table. “DT” isn’t one to back down from a fight, and to anyone who disagrees with her, she’ll see them in the lobby later.
Taurasi is no stranger to making excellent television - she occasionally co-hosts ESPN’s coverage of basketball games with US teammate Sue Bird. Her opinionated, witty commentary has proved popular with fans. If she could bring a quarter of that energy into her confessionals, The Traitors would be much better for it.
Taurasi’s demeanor and ability to deliver sound bites would make her a fantastic Faithful. It’s up in the air as to how long she stays in the game, but for the length of her stay in Scotland, she would definitely be a fan favorite.
Candace Parker - Las Vegas Aces
Candace Parker could win The Traitors. She’s incredibly astute and analytical. Her charisma combined with her analytical skills made her an obvious choice to become an NBA commentator on the WNBA offseason. This combination would also make her an obvious choice to be on The Traitors.
In addition to analysis, Parker is great at making her voice heard and standing up to people trying to out-talk her. Just look at this clip of her convincing three former NBA players to not only listen to her, but to agree with her analysis. If Parker can put up with Shaq’s uninformed takes on the regular, she can definitely handle the Round Table.
The question is: would she be a Faithful or a Traitor? Parker could be either given her intelligence and debate skills. However, she would have the best chance of winning if she was recruited as a Traitor later in the game. She’s charming and likable, which would help her survive the early game as a Faithful, but then she could use those skills as a Traitor to take all the money in the end.
Chloe Kim - U.S. Snowboarding
The laid-back California snowboarder may not be an intuitive choice for The Traitors, but her bravery on the halfpipe could make for a fun appearance on the show. She’s completely unafraid to try new things, which would serve her well in a game with a plethora of twists and turns. Her kind, confident demeanor would be a massive asset socially. Nobody would be threatened by her since she is so sweet and easy-going.
Her Twitter presence reveals another aspect of her that would be fun to watch on the show: her sense of humor. Kim is hilariously relatable and down-to-earth. Her self-awareness would make for fun confessionals and could put her into some fun conflict with other, less aware players.
While Kim has dipped her toes into the acting world, her straightforward way of speaking and her good intentions would not make her a good Traitor. Having her as a Faithful would be much better for her game and better television for the audience.
Kelsey Plum - Las Vegas Aces
Kelsey Plum is one of the funniest WNBA players. Her commitment to the bit cannot be understated. Take her mid-game trash-talking of Candace Parker where instead of putting down Parker’s game, she instead comments on her style choices. This strategy feels like something right out of Traitors fan favorite Kate Chastain’s playbook. For this alone, Plum should be on the show.
Plum has great observational skills, both on and off the court. In basketball, these skills make her a star playmaker. Online, they make her an ace (pun intended) comic. She makes hilarious observations about herself and the world around her, such as her colorful description of a cartoon drawing of her from the Aces Christmas card. Plum’s acute powers of observation could actually make her a powerful Faithful if she plays her cards right.
While she plays to win in basketball, Plum is not cut out to be a Traitor. Her strong faith makes her unlikely to want to engage in the intense deception needed to play the dark side. Luckily for viewers, Plum would be not only the comic relief of any season she’s a part of, but she may be a talented Traitor hunter too.
Margaret “Midge” Purce - Gotham FC
If she was ever cast on The Traitors, Midge Purce could very well be the second coming of season one contestant Cirie Fields. Both women are incredibly clever and socially savvy. Like Fields, Purce is also crafty, as evidenced by her “subterfuge” during a USWNT game of Hungry, Hungry, Hippos. She disguised herself as a member of the opposite team to sneak into their group and steal two marbles.
Traitors have to disguise themselves as a member of the Faithful to steal the money at the end of the game. Purce would be a brilliant Traitor because of her ability to blend in and cause chaos sneakily.
She also understands how to make good reality television. Purce created the reality show The Offseason, which follows her and some NWSL colleagues living in a house and training during the league offseason. Since she’s worked behind the scenes on reality television before, Purce is almost guaranteed to give amazing soundbites and one-liners, no matter if she’s a Faithful or Traitor.
Jill Scott, MBE - Retired English International
Season two of The Traitors US had not one, but two British contestants. In the spirit of this random casting choice, it’s only right that Man City legend Jill Scott makes her American television debut on The Traitors.
Scott is no stranger to reality competition shows, having won I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! in 2022. She’s survived many intense challenges on the show, including getting bugs dumped on her. This makes her a natural fit for The Traitors, where contestants compete in demanding missions, including one where bugs are often dumped on them.
In addition to her experiences with challenges, Scott is a compelling figure. Her soft-spoken, pensive demeanor in everyday life contrasts with her competitive side. The most infamous example of her competitive side coming out is her cursing out a German player during the 2022 Women’s Euro final after she was fouled.
Should Jill Scott be a Traitor or a Faithful? Her television resumé would suggest she would have an extra edge as a Traitor. However, the poetry-writing, coffee-shop-owning Member of the British Empire should definitely be a Faithful. It would be fascinating to watch Scott’s mellow nature transform into something more fiery throughout the game as she gets closer to the prize. For peak entertainment value, Jill Scott should for sure stay on the side of good.
Which women’s sports athletes would you want to see on The Traitors?
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