Caitlin Clark wasn’t supposed to save the WNBA. But here we are. The second-year phenom from Iowa has become the league’s lifeline, and they're running her into the ground like a rented mule. This week, she suffered a groin injury on a meaningless play with the game already in hand, 12 seconds on the clock. Why was she still on the court? Better question: Why is she being treated like just another jersey number instead of the reason anyone’s tuning in?
She’s not just a basketball player. She’s the economy. She’s the ratings spike. She’s the sellout crowds. She’s the reason ESPN, ABC, and even the White House started pretending to care about women’s basketball. And yet, the WNBA, in all its self-destructive wisdom, has let her be hacked, whacked, and now benched—because they don’t know how to protect their biggest asset.
USA Today Sports playing this news where it should be played, at the top of the app. The last time Caitlin Clark was out, more than half of the WNBA’s TV audience disappeared. Some people might not like that fact, but it’s the truth. pic.twitter.com/uNWlkoIi1i
— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) June 26, 2025
RELATED: The WNBA Completely Embarrasses Itself...Again
It wasn’t a ref. It wasn’t a coach. It was Sophie Cunningham who finally said: Enough. She checked Connecticut’s Jacy Sheldon like it was Game 7 of the NHL Finals—took the fine, took the hit, and earned respect. You don’t have to like it. You just have to admit it worked. Somebody had to protect the one player in the league who’s actually bringing money through the door.
Does it help to be a multi-sport athlete?
— Scott Young 🏈 (@CoachYoung15) June 19, 2025
Ask Sophie Cunningham, who not only helped her high school basketball team in Missouri win three straight state titles, but also played volleyball AND kicked for the school’s football team.#IndianaFeverBasketball pic.twitter.com/vJxw6VkgdM
Cunningham is doing the league’s job for it—and she knows it. She’s become the de facto enforcer of a broken system where star players get mauled in broad daylight while referees shrug and ESPN claps like trained seals.
TOP Selling WNBA jerseys 2025
— CT Smith (@scaryman42) June 26, 2025
1. Caitlin Clark
2. Paige Bueckers
3. Kate Martin
4. Angel Reese
5. Aja Wilson
6. Hailey Van Lith
7. Cameron Brink
8. Napheesa Collier pic.twitter.com/uEGxti56MK
Let’s drop the act. The so-called “physical play” isn’t about toughness. It’s about envy. It’s about players and coaches who resent the spotlight Clark commands, the endorsements she’s pulling in, and the crowds she draws. So they’ve decided to try and humble her—by injuring her.
But here’s the rub: If Clark goes down, the whole house of cards goes with her. Ticket prices tank. TV ratings drop. Merch sales flatline. It’s not just her future at stake—it’s the league’s.
You think the CBA negotiations next season are going to go well if Clark is sitting in street clothes for half the season? Think Nike’s going to cough up endorsement cash if their marquee name is wrapped in ice packs on the bench? You think fans are going to keep buying overpriced seats to see bench players shoot bricks?
Michael Jordan’s Agent David Falk Urges Caitlin Clark To Get Involved in WNBA CBA Negotiations
— AK (@Sudharsan_AK10) June 7, 2025
“She’s going to make everyone else a lot more money - not at the same level but in the same manner Jordan made everyone a lot more money,” pic.twitter.com/Z7pQEMbX4m
Get real. Every elbow thrown at Caitlin Clark is another dollar flushed from the WNBA’s already shallow pocket.
This isn’t about special treatment. This is about common sense. You don’t let your MVP take cheap shots in garbage time. You don’t let your biggest draw get blown up by jealous role players. You don’t let the one player the entire league is riding on limp off the court because some hack needed to make a statement.
And if the WNBA doesn’t wake up before the next CBA, the players who are targeting her now are going to find out what real pain looks like—when there’s no money left to go around, no fans left to care, and no future left to negotiate.
Clark isn’t the problem. She’s the miracle. But miracles don’t last if you stomp them into the hardwood every other night. Sophie Cunningham understands that. Maybe the rest of the league will catch up—before it’s too late.
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