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Commentary
The WNBA is mistreating its best hope — and it's making me mad
To the delight of basketball fans everywhere, the WNBA is whole lot more popular this season. Count me among the 2.1 million people who watched the Indiana Fever’s opening game — it was the most-watched WNBA game on ESPN platforms ever.
The league owes its historic viewership largely to No. 1 draft pick Caitlin Clark, who in her 11 WNBA games thus far has been launching full-court passes with surgical precision, draining some very deep three-pointers — and handling the media attention, brutal schedule and dangerous physical contact with more grace than the WNBA deserves.
The most recent example is a full-body hockey check from Chennedy Carter of the Chicago Sky during a game last weekend. It was an away-from-the ball hit that sent Clark flying to the ground.
Kennedy can clearly be seen mouthing “Hey b----” as she runs towards Clark just before putting her shoulder into Clark and laying her out. The refs called a common foul, which the WNBA upgraded to flagrant-1 status the next day, a pointless move: The game was over and the damage had been done. Fans had already seen Clark get clocked without the refs acting accordingly.
As much as Clark’s critics don’t like it, the WNBA is riding her coattails right now with viewership and live attendance. The stats don’t lie, nor do the huge numbers of #22 jerseys from both University of Iowa and the Indiana Fever you see in the crowd at any game. The WNBA had its most popular season in 2023, when it generated about $200 million in revenue — doubling its revenue from 2019 — but it’s still subsidized by the NBA. The league relied on investor contributions in 2022 to fuel a push for bigger media rights and further expansion.
I’ve been following and sometimes covering the WNBA since its inception in 1997, and I’ve seen it grow from a niche fan base to include those who appreciate the athleticism of women’s sports. This year the league added Clark, who brings a huge fan base and seems earnest with the media, not to mention her play itself. She’s broken big records and can launch a shot from almost half court that’s nothing but net. Her passion is just fun to watch. She’s physical in the game and doesn’t disparage others afterwards. And most importantly, she’s a household name. Young boys and girls want to be her when they grow up, and adults want to be her, too.
Young boys and girls want to be her when they grow up, and adults want to be her, too.
She is just what the WNBA needs to go from rising in popularity to thriving over the long term. If the WNBA wants to become profitable and keep the fan base growing at the exponential rate it's going right now, it needs to treat its top draft pick with some basic human decency.
We all know that the top pick often goes to the worst team, so it’s not a surprise that Clark’s team has a dismal 2-9 record. However, she has played 11 games in 20 days, with two instances of back-to-back games on consecutive days. She’s been continually pummeled by defenders, without referee protection. And she seems to be lacking the support of her own teammates and coach, who often puts her in at a position far from the ball, when she should be playing point guard — the court general.
Fellow first-round pick Angel Reese has been subject to some physical play as well, but a player was ejected because of it. Clark is the only player who’s had two or three defenders consistently guarding her for the full court, and it certainly seems like the referees are determined not to call fouls when Clark has the ball.
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Criticism of Clark is rampant. Some of it rants about how the league has other strong players and some of it is stats-based, and warranted. Clark has had some low-scoring games: her shooting percentage is below .400, and her per-game turnovers are high. In press conferences, Fever head coach Christie Sides talks about how Clark needs time to learn, to adjust, to take different shots. The WNBA is more physical.
All of this is true.
But it doesn’t matter how we got here, or what Clark’s current shooting percentage is. Clark has already changed the WNBA with her on-court abilities and high profile. The Fever reached their entire last season’s attendance in their first five games of the 2024 season; the team has quadrupled its per-game attendance over 2023 so far this season.
The WNBA needs to treat Clark the same as other players are treated on the court. Refs need to enforce safe and fair play, with foul-calling, technical fouls and ejections. Her coaches and teammates can do better as well. Players don’t have to bow down to her, but her teammates and coach should give her the opportunity to be who she is on the court. A day of rest would be great too.
Diana Taurasi and other seasoned WNBA players have said on the record that Clark was in for a rude awakening, and that she should give herself time to adjust and learn from those who have been there before. Is the WNBA so concerned about the jealousy from WNBA veterans and giving the appearance of handling their No. 1 pick with kid gloves that they have gone completely overboard in the other direction?
Clark has a $28 million-dollar contract with Nike in addition to endorsements from State Farm, Buick, Gatorade and Wilson. She doesn’t need the WNBA. Nonetheless, she said in a recent postgame press conference that she’s still having fun, and she clearly wants the league to succeed.
The league is going to lose some eyeballs fast if Clark continues to have quarters where she doesn’t touch the ball, remains unprotected by her teammates and coach, and is not kept safe by refs and league administration. The WNBA may survive, but it certainly won’t continue the upward trajectory it’s on at a critical juncture in its 26-year history.
People want to see Clark actually on the court, at the very least being given the opportunity to do her thing.
You’ve got an opportunity here, WNBA. Don’t blow it.
