The Time magazine quote that’s causing people to throw away their Caitlin Clark jerseys



Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark has brought attention to the WNBA more than all other athletes combined in the history of the league. She’s a once-in-a-lifetime player who could have risen to Michael Jordan levels had she maintained what everybody assumed was neutrality or silent conservatism.

Unfortunately, Clark went full-blown woke in her Time magazine interview that named her Athlete of the Year.

Liz Wheeler reads a quote from the article that’s causing fans from every corner of the country to toss their Caitlin Clark jerseys in the donation pile.

“I want to say I’ve earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege. A lot of those players in the league that have been really good have been black players. This league has kind of been built on them. The more we can appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that, and then continue to have brands and companies invest in those players that have made this league incredible, I think it’s very important. I have to continue to try to change that. The more we can elevate black women, that’s going to be a beautiful thing,” Liz reads.

The backlash for this statement has been swift, says Liz.

“It's just wokeness — essentially apologizing for being white, talking about having white privilege, talking about trying to pressure brands and companies to elevate black women,” she sighs, pointing out that the WNBA was actually “built on the back of the NBA, who for years subsidized it.”

“No one should care about skin color; you elevate someone based on the merit of their actions. What happened to content of character versus color of the skin?” she asks, noting that Clark’s statement was unnecessary because the times have clearly changed.

“Why would she say something like this when she didn't need to? It's not 2020 any more, where these professional athletes are under this enormous amount of pressure to be woke or face social ostracization.”

After talking to her sister, who just graduated from college, where she played NCAA basketball, Liz thinks she has pinned the answer that explains Clark’s virtue-signaling.

“Caitlin Clark didn't switch from being a conservative to a liberal,” as many people assume, she says. “Caitlin Clark has always been woke; she's just been quieter about it.”

As for her decision to go public with her wokeness now, Liz says it most likely has to do with keeping and acquiring sponsorships from companies that are “still suffering from wokeness.”

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INEVITABLE? Why Caitlin Clark finally bent the knee to the left



Caitlin Clark had become a conservative icon for what seemed to be a refusal to bend the knee to left-wing activism, but as the rule often goes, all good things must come to an end.

In a recent interview with Time magazine, Clark made clear where her allegiance lies when she told the reporter, “I want to say I’ve earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege. A lot of those players in the league that have been really good have been black players.”

“This league kind of has been built on them. The more we appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that, and then continue to have brands and companies invest in those players that have made the league incredible, I think it’s very important,” she concluded.

Steve Deace of the "Steve Deace Show” believes capitulating to the woke mob was always in her cards after joining the WNBA.


“Caitlyn Clark is groveling to a league that she is bigger than, she does not need. She is her own brand. She could go play internationally where a lot of the woke silliness that we have here largely does not exist,” Deace explains.

“She could just barnstorm the country with Caitlyn Clark’s Globetrotters and make every bit as much money, if not more, than what she’s making right now,” he continues. “The reason why I didn’t want her to go to the league is this was always bound to happen. She was never going to hold out, and it was frankly unfair to ask her to because it would be in denial of human nature.”

Deace also believes that because Clark is a woman, she’s “in a uniquely challenging position.”

“Men are relational creatures as well, but women are pre-eminently relational creatures, and asking a woman, just as a general rule, to be an iconoclast, goes against the natural order of things,” he explains.

“I would like to say, therefore, what position she finds herself in is uniquely challenging for her being asked to go up against an entire league, an entire peer group,” he continues. “Caitlin Clark will literally commit lesbian lascivious acts as part of the halftime entertainment and marry a woman within the next year or she might as well name herself Donald Trump.”

“Every time you turn onto Tolerance Boulevard it will always be a one-way street,” he adds.

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Caitlin Clark responds to backlash over white 'privilege' comments, says she just wants to 'be real' and 'share' her 'truth'



WNBA star Caitlin Clark said she is simply sharing her "truth" in regard to having "privilege" as a white person.

Clark spoke to Time magazine after being named "Athlete of the Year" and attributed at least some of her success to racism that has worked in her favor.

"I want to say I've earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege," Clark shockingly said. "The more we can elevate black women, that’s going to be a beautiful thing," she explained.

Obviously, this spawned significant backlash after Clark received support for remaining neutral throughout the 2024 WNBA season when it came to woke and racial ideology.

Some of the blowback came from political commentator and host Megyn Kelly, who mocked Clark for her remarks.

"Look at this. She's on the knee all but apologizing for being white and getting attention," Kelly wrote on X. "The self-flagellation. The 'oh pls pay attention to the black players who are REALY [sic] the ones you want to celebrate.' Condescending. Fake. Transparent. Sad," she added.

'I try to just be real and authentic and share my truth.'

During an event titled "A Year in TIME" on Wednesday night, Clark was asked to directly address Kelly's comments.

"I just want to know how you feel or how you respond to some of those criticisms," NBC Sports' Maria Taylor asked.

"I feel like I always have had good perspective on everything that's kind of happened in my life, whether that's been good, whether that's been bad, and then obviously coming to the WNBA," Clark began.

Then, Clark contradicted her previous comments, saying, "I feel like I've earned every single thing that's happened to me over the course of my career."

The 22-year-old expressed that she grew up a WNBA fan and said she knows "what this league is about."

To Clark, that means the league is about "so many amazing black women that have been in this league."

Clark continued, "Continuing to uplift them is very important, and that's something I'm very aware of."

The basketball star and rookie of the year also stated that her claim of white privilege and uplifting women of a particular race was actually her way of being honest.

"I try to just be real and authentic and share my truth, and I think that’s very easy for me. I'm very comfortable in my own skin, and that's kind of how it's been my entire life."

Clark received raucous applause for the new remarks and said she felt the Time magazine article turned out "amazing." Clark concluded by clarifying she only cares about the opinions of those she loves, including her teammates.

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Caitlin Clark named Time magazine’s Athlete of the Year, so why is superfan Jason Whitlock crying SAD tears?



Time magazine named Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark Athlete of the Year — a clear rebellion against the woke belief that only a black woman should receive the honor.

One would think that Clark superfan Jason Whitlock would be thrilled. And he was, initially. However, when he read Clark’s interview, it nearly brought him to tears — sad tears.

Clark’s statements suggest that she’s joined the dark side. It seems the progressives at the WNBA, which Whitlock calls “the Woke Negro Basketball Association,” have finally won her over.

“I read the entire article, and when I was done, I nearly cried,” he admits. “They massacred Caitlin Clark.”

“The one thing in sports where I watched and all the cares left my mind and all I could think about is, ‘Man, I love this little girl, I love what she represents,’ ... they've destroyed it,” Whitlock laments.

“Those angry black lesbians that hated her — I love watching her slay them,” he says.

However, it’s looking like Clark was slain herself — but in a different way.

“I'm with the Woke Negroes Basketball Association; I'm with the feminists; I'm with the lesbians,” says Whitlock, paraphrasing Clark’s statements in the interview.

While he presents several quotes from the interview, in which Clark’s unfortunate transformation is on full display, this one is perhaps the most telling:

“I want to say I’ve earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege. A lot of those players in the league that have been really good have been Black players. This league has kind of been built on them. The more we can appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that, and then continue to have brands and companies invest in those players that have made this league incredible, I think it’s very important. I have to continue to try to change that. The more we can elevate Black women, that’s going to be a beautiful thing.”

According to Jason, we shouldn’t be surprised by this response.

“She's behind enemy lines; they captured her, and they said, ‘Hey, read this statement,”’ he sighs.

To hear more quotes from Clark’s interview and Jason’s commentary, watch the episode above.

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'Just trying to get you that 300 million dollars you deserve': Shaq clashes with WNBA players over lowering the rim for women



Shaquille O'Neal is trying to convince WNBA players that lowering the height of the rim is the best thing for women's basketball.

O'Neal was responding to Las Vegas Aces player A'ja Wilson, who made comments on the "Roommates Show," a podcast featuring NBA players Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and host Matt Hillman.

Hart began the segment by asking the WNBA player what was the boldest piece of unsolicited advice she had ever received.

Wilson bluntly stated her entire feed and social media replies contain "that kind of advice."

Seemingly unpleased with the online reactions, Wilson said to viewers, "Who asked you?"

Hillman then sparked the ubiquitous debate about lowering the rim for WNBA players, and although he did not specify by how much, most debates suggest anywhere from three inches to an entire foot.

Wilson completely disregarded any legitimacy to the argument.

"What is it really going to do for us?" she asked. "I would much rather just gear my offseason to, 'OK, vertical, maxing it out, let's focus on this jumping,'" she told the hosts.

"Versus lowering it an inch? That could change all of our shots. Do y'all not understand that?"

The Aces player did not seem to think that adding dunking to the women's game is what audiences are looking for, warning that if she dunks in 2025, she better get a good reaction.

"You never know, next year I might dunk ... y'all better go crazy," she joked.

Wilson finished the segment by claiming, "Lowering the rim is just a very childish discussion."

However, at least one NBA legend disagreed. Days later, Shaq turned to his Instagram page to directly address Wilson's claims.

"60% of the fan[s] said Dunking [is] their favorite thing," O'Neal wrote. "The WNBA has none of that. So they make much less money. Just trying to get you that 300 million dollars you deserve," he added, before directly tagging Wilson's profile.

WNBA legend Candace Parker replied to O'Neal's post with "goodbye Shaq," with O'Neal saying in response that ratings would "go through the roof" if dunking was added to the WNBA All-Star Game.

'People always disrespect women regardless.'

This isn't the first time O'Neal has suggested the height change, either. In October, the former Laker told WNBA player Angel Reese the women's rim should be lowered by a few inches.

Reese immediately replied with, "I hate when men say that."

Shaq then detailed the similarities between the two leagues but noted, "The only thing that's missing is the dunk."

Reese was not having the argument, however, and according to the Daily Mail, turned the discussion into a debate about sexism.

"People always disrespect women regardless. [They're] always not gonna give us the same value as a man."

While the debate subject seems to anger at least some of the WNBA's most notable players, the key factor in the suggestion is figuring out how to generate more excitement for the league and, therefore, more revenue.

Even after its biggest season, the WNBA was estimated to have lost around $50 million, much more than it typically loses in a year. Many of the league's players also seem unwilling to address the reality of their league being subsidized and that includes Wilson.

On the same podcast, Wilson blamed investors for not putting in enough money to help the league grow.

"If no one's willing to invest, and like, truly invest, not just talk the talk but walk the walk as well, you're never going to grow."

She said the conversation players around her are continuously having is about finding investors who are going to "put their money where their mouth is," instead of the typical platitudes and feigned interest.

Unfortunately for Wilson, disregarding suggestions, making demands, and playing identity politics while not generating revenue are exactly the types of things that result in undedicated investors.

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WNBA star Angel Reese hammered by female Trump supporters after saying she's 'heartbroken' over election



Democrats have continued to lose the conversation, with women coming out in even the sports world to reject messages from athletes like Angel Reese.

Despite saying in August that she wasn't following the presidential campaigns, Reese put out a simple statement the morning after Donald Trump became the 47th president.

"As a woman, I'm heartbroken for us all..." Reese decried on her X account.

At the same time, Reese shared a picture of Vice President Kamala Harris on her Instagram, which had a caption "thank you, Kamala Harris, we are proud of you."

However, female readers were not supportive of Reese's emotional plea and flooded her replies with disagreements.

"Smart women know to vote beyond identity politics," a woman named Angie quickly replied.

— (@)

Another reader replied, "what's a woman," implying that the Democratic position on gender politics is that a woman cannot be simply defined.

"Imagine believing all the lies about trump! Wow!" a Trump supporter with "America First" in her profile also stated.

What’s a woman?
— Amanda (@BasedBlondex) November 6, 2024

Another X user even went as far as to say "keep your legs closed. Simple," inferring that Reese was taking issue with abortion rights, which are not under President Trump's control, however.

Keep your legs closed. Simple.
— Toasty 🍉🍗🍇 (@ThatbasedLatinx) November 6, 2024

Reese revealing her political leanings, albeit somewhat covertly, is a change from her typical responses to questions about Harris in the months leading up to the election.

During previous media availability periods, Reese parried questions about supporting the Democratic candidate.

For example, when reporter Brandon Robinson caught up with Reese on the court, he directly asked the athlete for her thoughts on the vice president:

"[Kamala Harris] is a woman, and she's doing her thing, running for president," the reporter began. "Have you had a chance to watch her? What are your thoughts on her running for political office?"

At the time, Reese's response was refreshingly-normal, telling the reporter she didn't feel educated enough to comment on the race.

"I haven't been able to tap a lot into the political election ... so I'm not that educated right now, but [I] just continue to learn," Reese replied.

Instead, the Chicago Sky player suggested, "everybody go out there and vote."

"I commend that, and I just tell a lot of people to go out there and vote because we need it for this election," Reese added.

The overwhelming volume of negative quotes and replies to Reese seem to signal that female voters prefer to focus on issues that are affecting their lives.

Responses relating to men in women's locker rooms appear alongside disgruntled basketball fans and Christians in what has become a cross-section of Americans focused on political, economical, and social issues rather than gender or racial politics.

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Blaze News original: Top 5 insane quotes from the WNBA's biggest — and weirdest — season ever



The WNBA has wrapped up its most notable season since its inception, breaking multiple viewership records while increasing attendance across the league.

The rookie season of Caitlin Clark saw ticket prices skyrocket wherever she played, with games even having to change locations to accommodate the fans who wanted to see her.

'I'm speaking on a particular group that is motivated by hate and destruction.'

But with more eyeballs came far more scrutiny of — and pressure on — the players. Not only did many players buckle under their newfound fame but so did owners and reporters.

What resulted from this historic season wasn't a showering of praise on the league's new fans or an increased appreciation for the sport but rather a historic series of blunders.

5. WNBA owner calls Clark fans 'racist'

Typically, sports franchise owners want to pull fans into arenas, not alienate them. That note seemingly didn't make its way to the desk of Renee Montgomery, former WNBA star and part owner of the Atlanta Dream.

Not only did Montgomery claim there was a prevalence of "bots" and "faux fans" within Clark's massive online following, but also the owner doubted that the new star's fans even watched her games.

"I'm speaking on a particular group that is motivated by hate and destruction," Montgomery said in a clip she posted to X.

"I like when our fans are so engaged and so passionate that they just don't like the other team. But being racist, sexist, and violent with your words — come on now, what are we doing? ... That's not acceptable," she added.

For some reason, the owner even brought Boston Celtics fans into the mix and accused them of "racist treatment of players."

The Dream finished 15-25 and were swept in the playoffs. Karma?

4. Reporter says a single MAGA hat made a WNBA game 'unsafe'

It wasn't enough in the 2024 season simply not to be a fan of Clark. Any connection to conservative politics that possibly could have been made was made — and then connected to some form of hatred.

Take WNBA writer Frankie de la Cretaz. The "they/them" journalist attended Game 2 of the playoff series between Clark's Indiana Fever and the Connecticut Sun.

De la Cretaz's reporting included citing the game's "vibe" as "horrendous" while also claiming she and her "partner" told off a "racist" fan sitting behind them. The fan's crime was daring to mock one of the Sun players for wearing fake eyelashes on the court.

The writer was even more outraged by "a man in a MAGA hat" and a woman wearing a "ban nails" shirt. The fan also sported props of giant fingernails on her hands.

When all was said and done, de la Cretaz said she'd be writing a scathing review about her horrible experience before adding, "I've never felt unsafe at a WNBA game & tonight I did."

3. Players complain their private planes are too small

After Clark was photographed on a luxury private flight — likely due to her being responsible for the massive attention the league was getting — players began demanding similar amenities.

Did they take their issues to WNBA brass and ownership? Of course not. Instead they took to their social media pages and press interviews.

Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese was the first to complain, posting a photo of herself seemingly embarrassed to be on a commercial flight.

On her Instagram story, Reese showed herself in sunglasses and a paper mask with the caption: "Just praying that this is one of the last commercial flights the Chicago Sky has to fly." A second caption read, "Practicing gratitude & patience as the league introduces charter flights for all teams."

Phoenix Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham went about her request far more arrogantly, saying, "Butterflies and rainbows now that we got the charters" before adding that the private planes weren't big enough.

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

"We are so grateful to be able to start chartering, but with that, there's a lot of things that need to be adjusted," she said during an interview. "Our bags and some of our people can't fly with us because our charter is too small. While other teams get big planes."

Cunningham seems to be unaware that while the league is losing a reported $50 million in 2024, its private plane program is responsible for half that debt at $25 million.

2. A'ja Wilson claims black players don't get endorsements — and is immediately proven wrong

In what may have been a cruel joke by a reporter, Las Vegas Aces player A'ja Wilson made wild, racially charged accusations, only to be immediately proven wrong.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Wilson claimed that race has played a "huge" role in Clark's popularity while adding that black women aren't seen as marketable and, despite what they may accomplish, are still ignored.

"It doesn't matter what we all do as black women; we're still going to be swept underneath the rug," Wilson argued.

To the surprise of very few, Wilson's claims were completely destroyed before they were even published.

A week before the interview went public, Wilson signed a deal with Gatorade. Then, on May 11, Wilson and Nike announced that she would be endorsed and given her own signature shoe.

On May 12, Wilson's interview with the Associated Press was published, leaving egg all over her face.

Wilson called it a "dream" of hers to be able to work with such an iconic brand as Nike, but she failed to mention anything about being unmarketable due to her race.

1. Cameron Brink accidentally calls her teammates ugly

The most jaw-dropping quote of the season came from the right place — that is, if you believe woke culture and social justice are forces for good.

When Cameron Brink gave an interview about "tired narratives," she focused on the idea of breaking stereotypes and tropes. However, the 22-year-old actually just ended up calling her teammates ugly and manly.

'Some of my teammates go by they/them pronouns.'

In an attempt to spew woke dogma, Brink initially went with race as a factor in popularity: "I will acknowledge there's a privilege for the younger white players of the league. That's not always true, but there is a privilege that we have inherently, and the privilege of appearing feminine."

Your browser does not support the video tag. Video by Dave Tolley/Getty Images

After stating there is pressure for women to appear womanly, Brink attempted to explain why her more "masculine" teammates should be more popular despite their looks.

"Some of my teammates are more masculine. Some of my teammates go by they/them pronouns," she said. "I want to bring more acceptance to that and not just have people support us because of the way that we look. I know I can feed into that because I like to dress femininely, but that's just me. I want everyone to be accepted — not just paid attention to because of how they look."

Brink has since continued to dress like a woman.

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The REAL reason the WNBA hates Caitlin Clark fans



The Caitlin Clark effect is the term used to describe the skyrocketing ticket sales, viewership, game attendance, and economic impact the Iowa native has had on women’s basketball. It started in college when Clark played for the Iowa Hawkeyes, and now it’s followed her to the WNBA. With the touch of what seems like a magic wand, the league, having been inconsequential for years, is now widely popular.

Since Clark was drafted by the Indiana Fever, attendance across the WNBA has shot up 50% and ESPN ratings doubled since last year.

One would think that the WNBA would show gratitude toward Clark, who has drawn the public eye toward the league as a whole, but no – the legend responsible for viralizing women’s basketball is demonized by the very players, coaches, and commentators who should be thanking her.

“They get a gift sent to them called Caitlin Clark. She is sprinkling magic all around the WNBA, making a sport that no one likes likeable and watchable, and instead of showing any gratitude towards Caitlin Clark, they have sat out to destroy Caitlin Clark,” says Jason Whitlock.

Why the ingratitude?

For starters, “she's not black and she's not lesbian,” so she doesn’t “fit the demographics” the woke league wants to elevate.

Clark has “played this brilliantly,” though, says Jason. “She has said nothing; she hasn't been aggressive with any of these people; she hasn't done anything.”

Having nothing to pin against her, Clark’s critics and adversaries have opted to “complain about her fans” instead.

Clark has brought in a demographic that Jason says has long been uninterested in women’s basketball – heterosexual people.

“What they're really saying is we don't want heterosexual men and women and their children coming to our sex cult,” says Jason. “They don’t want the demographics inside the arena to change.”

“So rather than have this league turn a profit and … begin the process of being able to stand on its own two feet, the alphabet mafia is throwing a riot and a temper tantrum, and it's being very hostile towards Caitlin Clark because they'd like to break her and ruin her and destroy her so that they [can] install … preferably a black lesbian woman as the face of this league,” Jason predicts.

“In their delusional minds,” Caitlin Clark is undeserving of the notoriety and attention because “black lesbian women built [the WNBA]” and should therefore be the ones on the pedestal.

To hear more of Jason’s commentary, watch the clip above.

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Numbers don't lie: The WNBA owes Caitlin Clark big-time



Caitlin Clark’s rookie season with the Indiana Fever was unlike any other the WNBA has ever seen. Fans — many of whom had never seen a WNBA game before — came out in droves to support her as she became a household name.

As Clark drummed up support from record numbers of ticket-holders, she drew a large number of flagrant fouls and consistent criticism from other coaches and players in the WNBA.

Still, what Clark did for the league cannot be denied, and the numbers prove that number 22 was a monstrous needle-mover.

From the outset, Clark became a traveling spectacle. She garnered a sold-out crowd in her pro debut against the Connecticut Sun at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

In fact, when compared to the following home game, Clark sent ticket prices skyrocketing. The cheapest seats available for Clark’s debut were $74, compared to $13 for the next game, which did not feature Clark.

This began what was known as the Caitlin Clark effect, and ticket prices soon reflected that.

At the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, prices increased by 300% when Clark rolled into town, from $21 to $84.

Seattle saw a 169% jump, while Las Vegas saw the most insane increase of all. The difference between prices at an Aces game before and after Clark was a whopping 2,200%: $92 versus just $4 to get into the building.

Clark affected ticket prices so much in her first month that any game that showcased her skills averaged a minimum $74 ticket price. On average, teams charged just $21.80 for the next home game; that’s a league-wide increase of 241%.

Attendance

Increased tickets prices were caused by increased attendance, with Clark completely flipping the league upside down.

By her second month, she was already doubling attendance at WNBA games. An analysis done after the first weekend of June showed that Clark played in two games with an average of 17,335 attendees. Seven other games were played that weekend without Clark, and those averaged just 7,009 fans.

The Clark effect was so unstoppable that it eventually spread throughout the league like a fever.

According to stats tracker Across the Timeline, attendance was affected across the board in terms of league averages, attendance highs, and season totals. In 2024, six teams averaged over 10,000 fans per game versus zero teams that accomplished that feat in 2023. Six teams averaged higher attendance in 2024 than the highest-selling team from 2023, as well. Some teams, like the Atlanta Dream, increased their average attendance by more than 1,700 fans per game. Additionally, only one WNBA team averaged fewer than 5,000 fans per game in 2024 versus four in 2023.

In season totals, Clark’s Indiana Fever had monstrous attendance. The team quadrupled its total attendance, increasing from 81,336 in 2023 to 340,715 in 2024. This had a trickle-down effect, resulting in eight teams having a higher total season attendance than the No. 1 team did in 2023. Two more teams barely missed beating the top team from 2023, marking an amazing turnaround for the league in total turnout.

In one of her many record-setting nights, Clark played in the most attended game in WNBA history against the Washington Mystics. The September 19 game drew in 20,711 audience members. In 2023, the most attended game was 17,406.

Clark even broke that 2023 attendance record in June simply by existing. When Clark's Fever visited the Atlanta Dream, demand for the tickets was so high that the game was moved to Phillips Arena in Atlanta, home of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks. The Dream’s typical venue at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia, has a capacity of only 3,500. This broke the Dream’s attendance record, shattering the team's inaugural game attendance of 11,609 in 2008, while simultaneously eclipsing the most attended WNBA game in 2023.

Viewership

Through the first weekend of June, WNBA games that featured Clark had an average of 1.099 million viewers. On the flip side, games without Clark averaged only 414,000 viewers.

Clark had already played in the most watched WNBA game in 23 years by this point, which had 2.13 million viewers on ESPN2.

She went on to eclipse that number four times throughout the season, breaking the single-game viewership record (2.45 million) held since Memorial Day 2001.

Her record-setting game garnered 2.54 million viewers on September 25 for a playoff game against the Connecticut Sun.

Showcasing how much Clark’s presence mattered for television viewers, ratings immediately dropped when the Fever were eliminated from the playoffs.

The first game of the next playoff round featuring the New York Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces brought in just 929,000 viewers on September 29, despite it being a rematch of the 2023 WNBA Finals. Concurrently, the first game of the Minnesota Lynx and Connecticut Sun semifinal had about 650,000 viewers.

Clark’s first playoff game beat out both of those games combined with an average viewership of 1.84 million. In fact, the top 16 most viewed WNBA games of 2024 all featured Clark on the marquee; each of them had over 1.3 million viewers.

Only four games without Clark on the screen were able to break the million-viewer mark. Still, all WNBA cable affiliates saw massive growth in 2024 thanks to her popularity.

As ratings outlet Sportsnaut noted, broadcast partners likely had their collective minds blown over the numbers they averaged. ESPN had an average of 1.2 million viewers for WNBA games, a reported 170% increase over 2023 (454,000).

On the ION network, games had a 133% ratings increase over 2023, with seven broadcasts averaging over 1 million viewers.

The league’s 23 total games reached more than 1 million viewers in a season, also a record.

As for the playoffs, the Liberty-Aces playoff game was still the most watched WNBA semifinal in the last 22 years despite falling short of Clark’s first-round numbers.

The complaints

The 2024 NBA season not only made Clark a household name but elevated the status of many other players. Unfortunately, many of those players became known for negative reactions to their newfound stardom.

More viewership apparently came with more expectations from the athletes, as they quickly began demanding some of the same luxuries afforded to Clark and her record-setting team.

Upon the season’s start, Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese complained to the internet about her team not having a luxury private jet. nReese posted a photo with text that said, "Just praying that this is one of the last commercial flights the Chicago Sky has to fly."

Then below, she wrote "practicing gratitude & patience as the league introduces charter flights for all teams."

Phoenix Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham vocalized her displeasure just a week later, stating that her team’s charter flight wasn’t big enough to fit all the players’ desired luggage.

"Our bags and some of our people can't fly with us because our charter is too small. While other teams get big planes. We want to talk about competitive advantage. Well, that's one right there."

The players appeared to have a belief in equity in their sport, despite Clark having millions in endorsements and her Indiana Fever increasing attendance and viewership at all her games.

This marketing disparity certainly took its toll on other players, who quickly began coming up with reasons for Clark’s popularity. Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson remarked that Clark’s endorsements were largely due to her race, calling it a "huge" factor in her popularity.

"It really is because you can be top-notch at what you are as a black woman, but yet maybe that’s something that people don't want to see," Wilson theorized.

Wilson went on to claim that black women aren't seen as marketable and, despite what they may accomplish, are still ignored.

That theory was completely destroyed when Wilson was signed to a signature shoe deal by Nike. She also signed a deal with Gatorade the same week; she couldn’t claim they were reactionary moves, because the deals were signed before her interview was even published.

Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink took a different approach to the popularity issue, seemingly shooting herself in the foot weeks later. While attempting to claim that race was a factor in the popularity of WNBA players, Brink inadvertently called her teammates too ugly to be marketed.

"I will acknowledge there's a privilege for the younger white players of the league. That's not always true, but there is a privilege that we have inherently, and the privilege of appearing feminine. Some of my teammates are more masculine," Brink claimed. "Some of my teammates go by they/them pronouns," she stumbled.

The 6’4" player then blamed herself for dressing "femininely" and said that other players should be popular despite appearing manlier.

"I want to bring more acceptance to [masculine women, pronoun users] and not just have people support us because of the way that we look. I know I can feed into that because I like to dress femininely, but that's just me. I want everyone to be accepted — not just paid attention to because of how they look."

The future

There’s no denying that Clark has opened many doors for her colleagues. Whether it’s through pure attention or luxuries that her teammates enjoy, she has elevated the league’s status significantly.

For example, the Las Vegas Aces players were awarded $100,000 sponsorships for seemingly no reason. The team has several popular players — nowhere near as popular as Clark — and finished fourth in the standings. However, the city of Las Vegas saw it fit to award the women with sponsorship deals void of any real requirements.

The terms of the deal put forth by the city were simple: "Just play" and "rep Vegas."

The players laughed their way to $200,000 over two years. This simply wouldn’t have been possible without Clark; nor would the privilege exist to balk at press opportunities. Before Clark, it would have been unheard for WNBA players to purposely avoid media scrums, but that’s exactly what happened in 2024.

WNBA players became so popular that the league changed media availability rules to allow teams to exempt players in certain situations. This was likely seen as a way to keep players like Chicago’s Reese from digging herself too many holes, as she was immediately exempted by her team upon the rule’s inception. Reese was fined in early June for breaking media availability rules.

The name of the game for the WNBA moving forward will have to be managing these personalities. Despite the massive increase in popularity, the league's players and coaches have a huge issue with how they speak about Clark.

WNBA owner Renee Montgomery has called Clark’s fans racist and sexist, while others players have called them overly "sensitive."

Reporters on the inside have taken issue with fans wearing MAGA hats, claiming their presence makes them feel "unsafe" while saying they were "racist" for heckling other players about press-on nails.

With a culture of pushing away new fans, the WNBA managed to turn a monumental year into a $50 million loss, which is five times more than the league typically loses despite being subsidized by the NBA.

Even with all the apparent success, it doesn't seem like the league can be pushed into the black simply through the existence of Clark, while removing gigantic expenses like private planes seems like a move the league wouldn’t dare make.

The WNBA’s best bet is to remind its players that minor league baseball teams, which are actually profitable, are getting paid less — and riding the bus.

Sue Bird’s rant about long-standing racism in WNBA highlights the league’s REAL problem



Caitlin Clark, despite being for the most part apolitical, has been a lightning rod for controversy. As the most adored female player to have ever graced the basketball court, Clark’s fanbase is huge — and they’re vocal.

When a rivalry between Clark, who at the time played for the University of Iowa, and LSU’s Angel Reese sparked in 2023, many of Clark’s fans were accused of hurling racial insults at Clark’s competitors.

According to mainstream outlets, Clark’s fans and their racism have followed the athlete into the WNBA, creating a hostile environment for many of the athletes.

Former WNBA player Sue Bird, the partner of radical leftist retired professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe, recently spoke on this subject.

In her podcast “A Touch More,” the former athlete told Rapinoe that “racism has been impacting the WNBA well before this year,” meaning Clark’s fans are merely exacerbating a pre-existing problem.

“I do think Caitlin is being used as a pawn. Caitlin didn’t bring racism to the WNBA,” said Bird, who went on a long rant about how she never could just focus on being a basketball player because she was forced to be a social justice warrior.

“We're still not allowed to be focused on our basketball play,” Bird lamented.

However, where Bird sees social justice issues, Jason Whitlock sees a pathetic cry for attention.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

“You couldn't get any traction based on your basketball, and so you decided, ‘Hey, we got to talk about racism and sexism to draw attention; we have to kneel during the national anthem to draw attention,”’ he says, comparing the WNBA’s social justice activism to “a kid who can’t get attention from their parents.”

And now that Caitlin Clark has entered the chat, people are finally able to focus on basketball because she’s brought the right kind of attention to the league.

“Someone showed up here who plays good enough basketball to draw attention and now people are actually evaluating [women’s] basketball,” says Jason.

According to him, before Clark, the WNBA fandom was lacking because it had “too many women tatted up and looking like men.”

“People don’t want to see that,” he says.

Then, “Caitlin Clark shows up with her ponytail and no tattoos and plays a brand of basketball that's exciting and fun to watch and voila — a crowd shows up,” Jason explains.

To hear more of his analysis, watch the clip above.

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