The WNBA's Not So Secret Attitude About Caitlin Clark
The WNBA's Not So Secret Attitude About Caitlin Clark
by Bill Knell
I'll be the first to admit that Caitlin Clark brought my full and enthusiastic attention to the WNBA. Before her I looked at their games as lacklustre attempts to capture the fandom of the NBA for the girls. But wait; before you think of me as a hater of women's sports, consider some facts.
As an outsider looking in I quickly discovered that the WNBA has been seriously mismanaged. Moving from a President to a Commissioner in recent years did little to improve their popularity or game attendance. Why? Because the league’s problems stem from what appears to be an almost mandated team philosophy that tends to belittle personal excellence. It's almost like they want their players to succeed for the sake of their team without drawing too much attention to themselves.
Then there's evidence of the league management being control freaks. They either suggest or mandate various pre-game rituals which include warm-up drills, scouting reports, listening to music or getting taped. These would be normal except, again, the league believes in team effort. If anyone plays exceptionally well without following the league's team philosophy or rituals they do so at their own risk.
Along comes Caitlan Clark. She's already got the skills, motivation and ambition to play the game like no other with or without league oversight and etiquette. There is no way her talent and attitude fits in with the current WNBA philosophy. Their attitude is that fans need to calm down about CC and look at the team and league as a whole. Despite all her success they concentrate on applauding the fact that they promoted LGBTQ+ Pride Month this past June. It's all well and good that they promote causes important to their players. It's likely that more than a few of them fit into the LGBTQ+ category. However, what does that have to do with league popularity or winning games?
A good example of the WNBA’s problems with Clark’s excellence is that she received an all-time record 1,293,536 fan votes for this year’s (2025) All-Star game, but ranked ninth among guards in the player vote. That tells me that the other players may be more than just jealous of her talent and popularity. They are displaying the systematic attitude towards CC that is, obviously, encouraged by (and contaminating) the league.
Many CC fans, including myself, could not believe that she was excluded from the Olympics??? Some accepted the reasoning offered by non-CC fan pundits who said, collectively, that CC was just too new and needed to step out of the way for more experienced players. Since when does experience mean excellence?
The truth appears to be that many in the WNBA, their pundits and some sports influencers are afraid that more players like CC may be on the rise. They don't seem to care if these newbies up the game, attract new fans, bring in more money and new sponsors. It's obvious that the league might feel like their players are already paid enough (for women) which is reflected in their rookie salary cap. This is beyond believability in our day and age, but I am sure it's true.
The ugly fact is that competitors like CC just do not fit the types they are used to having around. If I were a business referee I would cite the WNBA for a technical foul. I would suggest they try to stand out from the NBA instead of trying to copy it badly. They might have noticed that CC has a $28 million endorsement deal with Nike which includes a signature shoe. Thanks Nike for recognizing what the WNBA seems to be ignoring. Well, CC, you have my vote. You go girl!
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