Caitlin Clark easily became one of the most exciting players to join women’s basketball, wowing crowds with her notable shooting range, eye for the court, and never-back-down mentality. Not even with the many daggers thrown her way.
She had remarkable college performances at the University of Iowa with the 2023 NCAA Tournament Final Four game being the highlight where she earned 41 points thus sealing her as a talented player capable of shifting the momentum of the sport.
But while the WNBA is on the coattails of Clark’s popularity, the league has failed to capitalize on her talent.
In 2023, the WNBA had its most popular season, generating an estimated $200 million in revenue which is double what the 2019 season generated. With the recent increase in viewership and attendance of WNBA games at considerable levels, it is no surprise that the presence of players like Caitlin Clark has been a big help towards achieving those numbers. The Iowa native’s fandom from her collegiate career has been translated smoothly into the WNBA, with Clark’s No. 22 jersey for the Indiana Fever being a hot commodity across the nation. Her legions of fans from the University of Iowa and basketball enthusiasts alike show up enmass to witness her expertise on the court.
Despite her critics, Clark’s star power has placed her at the center of many conversations. She has broken records and dropped buckets from distances most players wouldn’t touch. She has been compared to NBA stars like Steph Curry, being one of the results of her ease at draining deep three-pointers. In her college career, Clark averaged an astonishing 27.8 points per game her junior year-a type of scoring that has directly translated to the professional level. Her firepower on offense and love for the game make her one to watch, and her appeal outreaches traditional basketball demographics. But amid all the noise and fanfare surrounding her, Caitlin Clark battles one of the most significant issues of the WNBA. Negligence!
Probably most noticeably, the physical play that has harassed her this whole season has forced the inability of the league to protect its stars into the open. Clark has continually been double- or even triple-teamed, harassed across the court by defenders. That is fair for a player of her calibre but what has stood out most is the lack of calls going in her favor. It would appear the WNBA referees seem very reluctant to blow their whistles when Clark is on the receiving end of roughing tactics.
At one point in the playoffs, this boiled over when she took a poke to her eye that left her with a black eye from Connecticut Sun DiJonai Carrington. Despite the blatant injury that knocked Clark out, Carrington was not ejected, and the physicality has only continued. In another encounter, Chicago’s Chennedy Carter came with a hard shoulder check that went almost unpunished at first but later got upgraded to a flagrant foul by the league. It shows a greater problem in the inability of the WNBA to protect its most marketable assets.
If Caitlin Clark is going to develop into a solid professional star, then the WNBA needs to do more to stand by her. The referees need to be much quicker on the whistle, calling fouls when physical play crosses a line.
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