Caitlin Clark: Why does the WNBA seem to dislike its own cash cow?

[C C]

Any socialist league is going to struggle with such unexpected success, wealth, and the self-sufficiency of no longer living off the NBA dole. And naturally the source for that turn toward capitalism is going to engender envy and grievances. And it indeed doesn't hurt that Clark is a privileged, straight white beyotch -- makes it a lot easier for opposing players to give that Karen a very physical foul on the court.
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THE SAGE STEELE SHOW
https://youtu.be/RrgtXTqMcDM

VIDEO EXCERPTS: Look at this from a business perspective. Since she was drafted in 2024 out of Iowa, Caitlin has the most jersey sales of any basketball player in the world except for Stephen Curry. [...] A woman has the most jersey sales second only to Stephen Curry. And frankly, that is something that nobody could have ever even predicted, dreamt of even. So, what does that type of popularity do to the league from a business perspective?

It is insane what's happened. TV ratings massive. They were up 170% her rookie year and they've stayed up during all three of her WNBA seasons.

Unprecedented. That of course means the league can charge advertisers more and therefore make more money and yes, players benefit from that. Also, nobody wants to talk about the new CBA, the collective bargaining agreement that went into effect this season. Looking at player salaries, they're up an average of 356% across the board. From minimum to maximum to average, 356%. The salary cap for each team is through the roof also from $1.5 million a year to $7 million a year salary cap. That's up 367%.

Now, is all of that just because of Caitlyn Clark? Of course not. There's several bonafide superstars in this league. The list is long, but the numbers don't lie. The impact of Caitlyn since she came into the league in 2024, it is global. And that's a win. That's awesome for a league that has struggled struggled a lot. They needed to be subsidized by the NBA and private investors for all these years, and they still do to an extent.

So, why do the players hate her? Is it because she's white? Is it because she's straight? Is because she's white and straight in a league that is predominantly black and gay and super-woke? I mean, I'm not sure any of those things are true...

[...] There's always bitterness when a transcendent player essentially takes over a league like Caitlin Clark has obviously done. [...] But to villainize her and in some cases try to hurt her isn't just cheap. [...] This is stupid. It's bad business to try to take out the most popular player your game has ever seen who has helped bring your league to another level. Bad business. Stop.

Why do WNBA players hate Caitlin Clark?... https://youtu.be/RrgtXTqMcDM

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/RrgtXTqMcDM

The Rubin Report ... https://youtu.be/IiDHUoTJnlI

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/IiDHUoTJnlI

[Syne]

There's a lot of racism involved, especially in all the fouls.

[Zinjanthropos]

There's a lot of racism involved, especially in all the fouls.

Been reffing bball for 40 years. Never had a white player, coach, or spectator call me or my partner(s) racist but other skin tones, yep. Maybe 5-6 times in over 10000 games for me. Twice I’ve had a parent just walk into the referee dressing room and label us such. Others were just crowd comments. I don’t say anything because confrontation is likely to get me in trouble. One of the dressing room encounters was after I worked a game in which there were no white players on either team. I’m not alone, have heard of many such incidents wth racist comments directed at refs including a couple where refs were given the shooting a gun hand gesture, and a few refs escorted out of gym after games just to get to their cars safely. It’s only a small few and vast majority of people don’t cause any probs.
Thats what the racist claimants want. Reactions mean you're guilty in their minds.

[Syne]

There's a not insignificant portion of American minorities that feel that them calling someone racist excuses their own behavior, no matter how violent (like Karmelo Anthony supporters). If it were just name-calling, that could be ignored. Poor Caitlin will probably end up with her career shortened due to injury.

[Zinjanthropos]

There's a not insignificantc portion of American minorities that feel that them calling someone racist excuses their own behavior, no matter how violent (like Karmelo Anthony supporters). If it were just name-calling, that could be ignored. Poor Caitlin will probably end up with her career shortened due to injury.

The whole thing is eerily similar to the time Larry Bird entered the NBA. A predominantly black NBA saved by a Great White Hope. He was often tested and roughed up by veteran players who I think felt all their hard work to keep league alive was being usurped by a generational player who happened to be white. Tell me whites are the only racists and I’ll laugh in your face.

Charles Barkley once said, and I’m paraphrasing, ‘Who would have thought the best golfer in the world is black and best basketball player is white’ . In reference to Tiger Woods and Steve Nash (2 time NBA MVP & Canadian).

[C C]

AFTER PARTY with Emily Jashinsky
https://youtu.be/eP3ns9rzSK8

VIDEO EXCERPTS: Oh, it was such funny or Orwellian phrasing. [...] This is from CBS News. Thomas recently served a one-game suspension because, quote, "her hand made contact with Clark's throat during the first half of their game on June 24th." That's from CBS. ABC did a very similar turn of phrase. They are clinging to this incessantly.

Yes. I think the crazy language is happening because it is a very loaded issue. It's race in a way that the mainstream doesn't want to talk about. I think there's a lot of people in this league that have trouble dealing with the fact that the greatest female basketball player to date is a white girl, you know, and this is a league that has been dominated by black women and has had a lot of great black women players.

[...] I've seen racism against Caitlin Clark online myself. I mean, this is a thing that people are out there saying. But that won't get covered on Good Morning America.

[...] I have not been able to watch the NBA for a long time now. Because it has been taken over by sheer athleticism, rather than strategy and coaching. One of the reasons why I used to love watching girls college basketball was because the girls had to be more artful about passing and running plays and things like that. And it made the sport very interesting to watch.

Now the WNBA is adopting that pushing and hitting of the NBA, and that kind of violence just doesn't translate well to the women's game...

Why isn’t the league protecting its biggest star? ... https://youtu.be/eP3ns9rzSK8

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/eP3ns9rzSK8

[C C]

Caitlin Clark, coach Stephanie White speak to the media: https://youtu.be/DVVLZQ8dTXw
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THE BEN DANIELS PODCAST
https://youtu.be/3mNg_Kubp5g

VIDEO EXCERPTS: Caitlin Clark comes out and lets us all know she is out for this Sunday's matchup against the Las Vegas Aces. Her return date is one of the two games of the double header coming up this week. [...] She's going to play against the Mercury so she can get beaten up and assaulted one more time by Alyssa Thomas, by DeWanna Bonner, and by Natasha Mack. You guys get the point.

Caitlin Clark also today comes out and gives us a statement about the hate. What she doesn't do is go into a full diatribe defending Alyssa Thomas and getting on her knees and kissing Alyssa Thomas's behind like her head coach did. [...] But we know one thing about this Indiana Fever organization. That thing in between their ears called a brain, they don't really use it. And when they do use it, they don't use it well.

[...] What she doesn't do is say this league is about inclusivity. This league is about propping up the marginalized. This league is a melting pot of the weird. She doesn't do that. She gives the standard statement that she's given numerous times. Actually, she said it in her rookie season.

[...] Well, Caitlin Clark, nobody else in the league but you is worth talking about. I know you don't want to admit it, but nobody else in the league is really worth talking about. She talked about the organization having her back and the coaching staff having her back.

They don't have her back. I don't know why she continues to think that they do. ... Maybe she actually believes that they have her back. Nobody asked if the coaching staff has her back. She just kind of has been coming out and saying the coaching staff has her back. Like trying to prove to us that they have her back, that the organization has her back. Nobody asks directly. She just comes out and says it, which is interesting... https://youtu.be/3mNg_Kubp5g
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Damn - Kelsey Plum indirectly snapped brutally honest about Caitlin Clark hate within the WNBA
https://youtu.be/ap_aVJVG42M

VIDEO EXCERPTS: There's been a lot of nonsense going on. The WNBA, the gift that keeps on giving. The clown show continues. Kelsey Plum went through a lot in her early stages in her career. And she pretty much put it out there why all of this is happening. Why she was treated the way she was treated. Why Caitlin Clark is being treated the way she's been treated after doing everything to change these women's lives in this league.

The second Caitlin Clark got here. All these girls are on private jets. You got million-dollar contracts. All types of stuff going on. TV ratings through the roof. Ticket sales through the roof. She single-handedly changed the league herself.

But all the players hate her. Kelsey Plum is going to tell you exactly why right here...

[...] Whoa. Whoa. We got to play that part back. We got to play that part back:

"It's just brutal. I definitely think the expectations of being a number one pick are brutal, especially if you have any type of height or like media coming out of college. They're just brutal. And then I don't think it helps being a 5'8" white girl coming into the league with 85% Black women that want to take your head off."

[...] So she let it be known when you come in here and you're white and you're popular, you've got media. Oh no, they don't like that. And the type of media attention Kelsey Plum had in comparison to Caitlin Clark is nothing. So that's why you see all the vitriol, all the hate, all the jealousy. That's why you see it.

It oozes through their pores. And she, let it be known, she somewhat dealt with this firsthand. She was the all-time leading college scorer before Caitlin Clark broke her record. She came into the league with some level of clout. Not nearly to the level of what Caitlin Clark did, but even she went through what she went through. So, you can already know what Caitlin Clark is dealing with all of these women hating. You know, you had Sheryl Swoopes and a bunch of people taking shots and hating her from door to door before she even got there.

[...] If you're white and you're popular, they hate you. They hate you, bro. And she and Caitlyn Clark are also straight, by the way. They are also white, popular, and straight. I'm just saying. I'm just saying. Just putting it out there...

Keep The Vision ... https://youtu.be/ap_aVJVG42M

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ap_aVJVG42M

[Yazata]

They hate Caitlin Clark because she shows them up and gets attention that they think they should get. And she's white in a mostly black league. And she's heterosexual in a mostly lesbian league. She's treated as an intruder onto their turf and when she's more popular and gets more media attention than they do, it sets them off.

[Syne]

Perpetually entitled martyrs tend to lash out.

[Zinjanthropos]

Honestly, it sounds like one big cat fight. Kind of refreshing in some ways.