Caitlin Clark has transformed the WNBA and women’s basketball in general from something of a punchline into must-see television. But as her superstardom has continued to ascend, she has become a target across the league.
Rival players, from Angel Reese to Marina Mabrey, have taken what some would consider to be cheap shots at Clark. On Wednesday, Alyssa Thomas added her name to the list of Clark’s combatants when she punched the Indiana Fever guard in the throat and stepped on her during a scrum for a loose ball.
Thomas received a one-game suspension and a minuscule $1,000 fine as a result, and there is a feeling that the WNBA isn’t doing enough to protect its biggest meal ticket.
The Backlash Against Caitlin Clark Is Real
In an editorial piece for USA Today, Christine Brennan slammed WNBA players, as well as commissioner Cathy Engelbert, for acting as if dirty acts against Clark are simply business as usual.
“For three seasons now, in ways big and small, the WNBA and its players have continued to show their unabashed jealousy, disdain and outright hatred for the greatest thing to happen to them,” Brennan wrote.
“The league’s paltry one-game suspension of Thomas, with a tiny $1,000 fine (she makes a base salary of $1.2 million a year) and no mention of punishment for the officials overseeing the incident, barely begins to address the problem. Ten games and a fine well into five figures would have sent a significant message. One game does not.”
According to Brennan, Engelbert has done almost nothing to send a message to the rest of the league that such acts are unacceptable.
“Clark is getting pummeled on a regular basis, and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert — who was given the greatest gift, in Clark, any women’s sports commissioner has ever received — has done precious little about it, until today, kind of, just a little,” Brennan added.
“What an opportunity she had to throw the book at Thomas, who has a history of dirty play, including severely injuring Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier’s ankle last year. Thomas also happened to knee Clark in her left groin, which was injured last season, moments before her fist ended up on Clark’s neck.”
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Clark developed into a big star at the University of Iowa, where she became the NCAA’s all-time leading career scorer among both women and men, surpassing Hall of Famer Pete Maravich. In 2024, she was the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft and was named the Rookie of the Year while also making the All-Star team and the All-WNBA first team.
Clark led the league in assists as a rookie, and her game still has lots of room for improvement. She has career shooting percentages of 41.1% from the field and 33.2% from 3-point range, and she has committed turnovers in bunches. Still, her positive impact on women’s basketball is undeniable.
People Have Been Tuning In To Watch Clark
In 2024, Clark’s rookie year in the WNBA, the league experienced its highest television ratings ever across ABC, CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ION, and NBA TV. ESPN saw a 170% increase in viewership compared to 2023, CBS’s viewership went up 86%, and NBA TV brought in more than four times the viewers it had for WNBA games in 2023. League attendance also increased by almost 50% in 2024 compared to the previous year.
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Last week’s game between the Fever and the expansion Toronto Tempo averaged one million viewers, making it the most-watched WNBA game on cable so far this year. In that contest, Clark dished out a season-high 14 assists in a 113-91 victory.
Perhaps the rest of the league’s players should stop feeling envious or even hateful toward Clark and start giving her the type of superstar respect she deserves. She has made the pie much bigger for everyone, as evidenced by the WNBA’s new lucrative collective bargaining agreement that will result in greater revenue sharing and therefore send player salaries into the stratosphere.