Now you might look at that headline and think, what? Is this Bob Hoge the dumbest guy ever?
The WNBA has been getting horrible press for months now, from its execrable treatment of its star, Caitlin Clark, to its inability to define what a woman is, to two former male NBA stars trying to join its ranks, to the vicious clothesline takedown of Indiana Fever forward Sophie Cunningham by the Chicago Sky’s DiJonai Carrington, to Carrington’s subsequent incendiary post implying that her ejection was because of Cunningham’s “white privilege.”
No, it’s not white privilege, DiJonai, it’s because the league, like virtually every league, has rules against viciously and intentionally fouling players in extremely dangerous ways.
Dijonai Carrington: “I’ve never once claimed that the assessment of the foul was white privilege (that was your assumption)”
— Gina Milan (@ginamilan_) August 10, 2026
Girl, stop.
You posted that right after getting ejected for a flagrant 2 on Sophie Cunningham.
Nobody assumed shit. You said it. pic.twitter.com/jEtC2Kjrzr
Years before that, the main thing anybody knew about the Association was that someone named Brittney Griner apparently hated the country that gave her so much opportunity, was arrested in Russia in 2024, and then thrown in the Gulag for drug possession. She is only experiencing freedom again because the government negotiated her release — but the Biden administration exchanged the so-called “Merchant of Death,” Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who allegedly sold weapons to terrorists.
Many wondered whether the lopsided prisoner swap was a good move. Mr. Merchant was soon back to brokering small arms deals with Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants, so you decide.
Oh, what a visit in a totalitarian communist country will do to your appreciation of America. Should have read your history books, Griner:
Then there was former WNBA guard Candice Wiggins, who said in 2017 that she had been bullied during her eight seasons in the league for being heterosexual and presenting herself in a traditionally feminine way. Now there’s a surefire way to bring in the fans.
Meanwhile, many of the Association’s players push far-left racial and social ideology, and some of them are constantly complaining that they’re being undervalued and taken advantage of, seemingly forgetting that they’re getting paid good money to bounce a ball.
In short, there’s very little to like about the WNBA, and their fanbase is nothing to write home about. Does anybody know who won the championship last year? Or ever?
DRAMA CENTRAL: Sophie Cunningham's Coach Erupts in Angry Rant, Defending Her Own Remarks About Flagrant Foul
WNBA Player Ejected for Smacking Sophie Cunningham Across the Face, but Her Reaction Is Even Worse
And yet, now they’re in the headlines every single day. Are the bosses snickering in the boardroom, reminding each other that there’s no such thing as bad publicity — there’s only publicity? The one thing all these controversies have brought is attention. They don’t get much of that for the quality of the product on the court, so the execs might be secretly reveling in all the clamor.
As writers and social media posters sometimes remind each other when they’re feeling beaten up by vicious basement trolls maligning their work, “a click is a click.”
They should be snickering, because the backbone of all sports leagues — statistics — is not in their favor. Although the arrival of Caitlin Clark has caused a surge in their numbers, they’re still far behind the NBA, which garners three times the viewers of the WNBA. The men’s league pulled in 170 million U.S. viewers for the ’25-26 season, while the women’s earned 54.
Hee hee:
Let “The Transition” to the @WNBA begin.
— Enes Kanter FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) August 11, 2026
Rules Are Rules!#LetFreedomPlay pic.twitter.com/EWWjrl7DaL
But it’s profits that are the biggest difference: the NBA is one of the most lucrative leagues in the world and pulled in an astounding $11.68 billion in basketball‑related income during that same season. Meanwhile, the WNBA is still not profitable, despite being in existence now for almost 30 years.
The reality is that the NBA has kept the women's league afloat since its inception in 1996, using its leverage to secure marketing and sponsorship deals that they wouldn't otherwise get. NBA ownership still controls about 60 percent of the WNBA, meaning the men's league effectively subsidizes its counterpart and swallows its losses.
In other words, without the NBA, the WNBA would go the route of the Dodo bird.
You think they’re not loving all this attention?
If this is some sort of 4-D chess operation, however, the Association may soon wake up with a monster hangover. Should they continue to fail to protect transcendent star Caitlin Clark, and she decides she’s had her fill and bolts to go play overseas, they will lose a big part of what’s driven their recent surge in viewership.
Sophie Cunningham has also become an internet favorite, and if she says "enough of this garbage," again, many folks who had newly taken an interest will soon find that they don’t care that much after all.
Lucky for the Association, I have an idea on how to jumpstart interest: lower the damn basket. The WNBA ball is smaller than the men’s, so why shouldn’t it be eight feet instead of ten?
Memo to the brass: this might be a novel concept to you, but men and women are built differently. By lowering the height, we could see the athleticism and highlight-reel plays that the NBA produces on a nightly basis. Watching ladies pass around the ball and hip-check each other and then shoot is not all that interesting for very long — just like any sport, you need some zip in the contest.
Sure, all the controversies around are bound to make some looky-loos tune in, and Caitlin Clark is a magnificent player, but one can only watch her shoot three-pointers so many times. Let’s see some action at the rim, and then maybe it will be worth tuning in.
Note to the WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert: I accept PayPal, Venmo, and major credit cards. Although I am hardly the first person to suggest this, I still think I should get paid because I’m bringing it up now. Scandals and controversies can only sustain you for so long.
Why you haven’t done it already is beyond me, but then again, many of the league’s decisions are baffling. When the controversies fade, they’ve still got to put a solid product that people want to watch on the floor — and so far, they’ve struggled to do that.
