2025 WNBA Thread

[Hards Alumni]

So unfair that those rappers get to say the N-word and you can't, hey?

Oh, he says it, we both know it.

[Hards Alumni]

Do these woman even know that they are chopping down the money tree?

Not to compare her to Tiger, but Clark is making a lot of money for those that are jealous of the attention she gets. Look at how ridiculously low WNBA salaries are. Now, someone comes along who will increase $$$ for everyone, and they're unhappy with all the attention she is getting.

I'm not sure you understand engagement.  Controversy drives eyeballs.

Anything that has happened has been minor, but blowing it out of proportion gets people riled up and ready to watch the next game.

[MU82]

Here's Chris Branch in The Athletic's morning e-newsletter:

There is nothing more divisive in sports right now than the mere existence of Caitlin Clark, who inspires record viewership, controversial hard fouls and, as we saw yesterday, prominent media members to lose their minds.

Let's start with yesterday's maelstrom before we fill in some context:

During Pat McAfee's afternoon ESPN show, he referred to Clark as a "white b—" while passionately defending the Fever rookie in a segment. He took exception with the argument that anyone besides Clark (Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, etc.) is driving the league's newfound expanded audience. McAfee later apologized for his wording. Simply, as Andrew Marchand wrote yesterday, McAfee came up short.

Elsewhere on ESPN, Stephen A. Smith and women's basketball analyst Monica McNutt engaged in a frankly uncomfortable back-and-forth about the coverage of Clark and the WNBA. Smith asked McNutt, "Who talks about women's sports more than 'First Take'?" To which McNutt replied: "Stephen A., respectfully, with your platform you could've been doing this three years ago if you wanted to." Smith later got very angry online about the whole thing, while McNutt expoaded on her comments with Shannon Sharpe later in the evening.

McNutt's comment — and Smith's later response — are the crux of this entire issue:

For those who watched/covered/enjoyed WNBA basketball before Clark arrived, this was already a great league, with great storylines and great basketball. Those people will wonder why it took everyone else so long to see. More specifically, they want to know why it was Clark who brought these eyeballs, and not players like Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Candace Parker, Sylvia Fowles or A'ja Wilson. It's a valid point, and one Jim Trotter made back in April about the uncomfortable truth behind the Caitlin Clark Effect.

And yet this is our reality, which is something both Smith and McAfee (however clumsily) emphasized. Clark has helped bring this massive moment for the WNBA, fair or not — to the aforementioned league legends and Clark herself.

Two things can be true. I hope this is simply a day of growing pains for the national media and fans on how we talk about the WNBA as it becomes more of a national discussion. Every metric shows massive, massive interest in all things Clark and WNBA right now. That's not going away.

[The Sultan]

And a lot of that coverage is really odd, and represented by the comments that rocket and Lennys are making. Caitlyn Clark isn't some flower that needs protecting. She is a high level, professional athlete. And yeah, she's getting targeted like hyped up rookies have in the past and will be in the future.

And by the way, I didn't realize until this morning that she was jawing with Carter the play before that. So, while obviously a cheap shot, it seems less about her race and her sexuality, which were always laughable to begin with, and more about Carter being pissed off.

A simple piece of advice. Just treat women's basketball like men's basketball. We would be having NONE of these silly debates if this were some NBA rookie. No need to drag your old, white victimization nonsense into this.

[Hards Alumni]

Talk sh!t, get hit, basically

[The Sultan]

Talk sh!t, get hit, basically

Bingo. A tale as old as time.

[Pakuni]

Chicago Tribune editorial board stepping on its dick here is wholly unsurprising.

https://awfulannouncing.com/wnba/chicago-tribune-criticized-article-chennedy-carter-caitlin-clark-assault.html

[The Sultan]

This is really good.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5538306/2024/06/03/caitlin-clark-wnba-progression-chennedy-carter/?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur

"McAfee was wrong when he argued that Clark needs to be protected as a "cash cow" who is bringing eyeballs to the league. It's a misguided belief that has been spewed by others, including LeBron James. As a former professional athlete, McAfee should know how foolish he sounds. Game respects game. There is no "take it easy" between the boundaries. You earn your keep.

Interestingly, the loudest voices calling for a double standard have come from men, which should be insulting to Clark and every other woman. It's as if these men are saying that Clark isn't strong enough to stand for herself. If she isn't, she should move on like any other player in that situation would do. To treat her any other way is disrespectful to not only the true stars of the game but also the game of basketball itself."

[Jockey]

Those hysterical women don't know what's best for them huh?

If only they'd listen to us middle aged white guys who have only watched the WNBA when we turned on the wrong channel by accident.

You know that wasn't my point as these realizations sometimes take a few years. There was a lot of initial jealousy over Tiger as well that withered over time.

[The Sultan]

You know that wasn't my point as these realizations sometimes take a few years. There was a lot of initial jealousy over Tiger as well that withered over time.

Your point was "they're chopping down the money tree."  Which is ridiculous. They're playing basketball. And sometimes playing basketball comes with chirping and tempers.

WNBA players don't owe Clark anything on the court. Absolutely nothing.

[Jockey]

And a lot of that coverage is really odd, and represented by the comments that rocket and Lennys are making. Caitlyn Clark isn't some flower that needs protecting. She is a high level, professional athlete. And yeah, she's getting targeted like hyped up rookies have in the past and will be in the future.

And by the way, I didn't realize until this morning that she was jawing with Carter the play before that. So, while obviously a cheap shot, it seems less about her race and her sexuality, which were always laughable to begin with, and more about Carter being pissed off.

A simple piece of advice. Just treat women's basketball like men's basketball. We would be having NONE of these silly debates if this were some NBA rookie. No need to drag your old, white victimization nonsense into this.

You're right. It was never about race. It was about a new dog on the block and the existing dogs wanting it to know the law of the land.

But everything is about 3 things: Money, money, and $$$. The alpha battles will never end, but the prospect of making more money will win out.

[Pakuni]

You're right. It was never about race. It was about a new dog on the block and the existing dogs wanting it to know the law of the land.

But everything is about 3 things: Money, money, and $$$. The alpha battles will never end, but the prospect of making more money will win out.

Of course, but in terms of generating money and interest, this is not a bad thing for the WNBA. Quite the opposite, it's a great thing. Realistically, interest in a struggling Caitlin Clark is going to wane. This makes the next Indiana-Chicago game must-watch TV.
And this isn't a matter of other WNBA players somehow endangering the league's new rainmaker. Nobody went Johnny Lawrence and swept her leg. This wasn't Kermit Washington sucker punching Rudy T, or Kevin McHale clotheslining Kurt Rambis. It was a shoulder check, and not a particularly hard one.
Clark will be fine and the league will be better off with rivalries and villains.

[lawdog77]

Of course, but in terms of generating money and interest, this is not a bad thing for the WNBA. Quite the opposite, it's a great thing. Realistically, interest in a struggling Caitlin Clark is going to wane. This makes the next Indiana-Chicago game must-watch TV.
And this isn't a matter of other WNBA players somehow endangering the league's new rainmaker. Nobody went Johnny Lawrence and swept her leg. This wasn't Kermit Washington sucker punching Rudy T, or Kevin McHale clotheslining Kurt Rambis. It was a shoulder check, and not a particularly hard one.
Clark will be fine and the league will be better off with rivalries and villains.

Danny Larusso and Kurt Rambis deserved it. Not sure about Rudy T.

[Jockey]

Of course, but in terms of generating money and interest, this is not a bad thing for the WNBA. Quite the opposite, it's a great thing. Realistically, interest in a struggling Caitlin Clark is going to wane. This makes the next Indiana-Chicago game must-watch TV.
And this isn't a matter of other WNBA players somehow endangering the league's new rainmaker. Nobody went Johnny Lawrence and swept her leg. This wasn't Kermit Washington sucker punching Rudy T, or Kevin McHale clotheslining Kurt Rambis. It was a shoulder check, and not a particularly hard one.
Clark will be fine and the league will be better off with rivalries and villains.

I agree 100%.

Well maybe 95% - not quite there on the must-see TV thing. 

[Lennys Tap]

Those hysterical women don't know what's best for them huh?

If only they'd listen to us middle aged white guys who have only watched the WNBA when we turned on the wrong channel by accident.

Thanks for calling me middle aged - so rare to get any sort of kindness/decency from you. But it's not just white guys. Plenty of black people saying it too.

Angel Reese is also a very high profile rookie. Why do you think that she a) hasn't been pushed around and cheap shotted like Clark and b) was jumping up and down and clapping when Clark was blindsided in a dead ball situation?

[Pakuni]

Angel Reese is also a very high profile rookie. Why do you think that she a) hasn't been pushed around and cheap shotted like Clark and b) was jumping up and down and clapping when Clark was blindsided in a dead ball situation?

Huh.
https://www.reddit.com/r/wnba/comments/1d0sspe/alyssa_thomas_gets_ejected_for_a_fragrant_foul_on/

Maybe Reese and Clark are high-level competitors who don't like each other. And the sweet little hetero white girl is not blameless for that antagonism.

Where was your outrage for this?
https://www.instagram.com/p/C0KQCw3RK8N/

Or this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX_YO9EEEI4

[The Sultan]

Huh.
https://www.reddit.com/r/wnba/comments/1d0sspe/alyssa_thomas_gets_ejected_for_a_fragrant_foul_on/

Maybe Reese and Clark are high-level competitors who don't like each other. And the sweet little hetero white girl is not blameless for that antagonism.

😂😂😂

Lenny's needs to tap out of this topic.

[Uncle Rico]

Truly incredible

https://x.com/fox59/status/1798436729650909233?s=46&t=QSiaGcOIKZrrpw0ciZkI5Q

[Pakuni]

Truly incredible

https://x.com/fox59/status/1798436729650909233?s=46&t=QSiaGcOIKZrrpw0ciZkI5Q

[muwarrior69]

I am sure the men are glad they don't play in the WNBA. Way too brutal of a sport.

[MuggsyB]

Aueriemma says Clark is being targeted fwiw.

[Uncle Rico]

I am sure the men are glad they don't play in the WNBA. Way too brutal of a sport.

Thank goodness politicians are getting involved then.

[The Sultan]

Aueriemma says Clark is being targeted fwiw.

I don't think anyone is claiming she isn't.

[MuggsyB]

I don't think anyone is claiming she isn't.

Again, she'll be fine.  She really hasn't had time to train after Iowa and her team and coach is a dumpster fire. By next season she'll be ready. 

[MU82]

Truly incredible

https://x.com/fox59/status/1798436729650909233?s=46&t=QSiaGcOIKZrrpw0ciZkI5Q

Just wait till the Hausers get involved.