Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever suffered an ugly 89-72 loss to the Connecticut Sun on Monday night to fall to 3-10 on the season. Clark finished with only 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting in what was one of her worst games of her young WNBA career.
Clark got into some foul trouble and sat for a long time in the second half, which led to something you're not used to hearing in the arena of an opposing team—fans started chanting "We want Caitlin!" with hopes that the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft could get back out on the court.
Here are those scenes:
Chants of “We want Caitlin” are starting to ring out here at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Clark hasn’t played since the middle of the third, when she picked up her fourth foul. pic.twitter.com/yU0HQDkh4H
“We want Caitlin” chant has broken out at Mohegan Sun Arena. Clark was taken out at the 5-min mark in the third quarter. It is now 3 minutes in the 4th.
Getting to the foul line is a key part of Caitlin Clark's offensive bag, which sometimes leads to the rookie superstar embellishing contact from defenders in order to secure a foul call from officials.
Clark was awarded a foul during Monday's tilt between the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun after officials deemed that DiJonai Carrington reached in while trying to steal the ball.
Carrington clearly did not agree with the assessment from the referees, and she made clear that she felt Clark had flopped on the play. After hearing the whistle sound and the official call her number for a foul, Carrington comically mimed Clark's flopping antics.
Carrington appeared to bump Clark while she tried to drive to the basket, which is what prompted the whistle from the referee. That didn't sit well with Carrington, who indicated to the official that Clark had sold the contact with a flop.
Ultimately, it was Carrington and the Sun who got the last laugh. They picked up an 89–72 victory on their home court, marking the third time this season they've beaten Indiana. Clark was a game-worst -30 and had just 10 points on the night while Carrington led all scorers with 22 points.
Business is booming in the WNBA, largely thanks to the highly coveted rookie class headlined by the likes of Caitlin Clark, Cameron Brink and Angel Reese, among others.
With the first month of the 2024 season officially past, the league announced its TV ratings and attendance details for the month of May. It comes as no surprise that both are up massively compared to last year, with TV ratings reaching all-time highs and attendance at its highest mark in 26 years.
The league reported that approximately 400,000 fans attended WNBA games in May, the most the league has recorded since 1998. More than half of the league's games have resulted in sellouts, an increase of 156% over last season.
In terms of television viewership, the league noted that WNBA games have logged an average viewership of 1.32 million viewers per game across ESPN, ESPN 2, ABC and CBS. That figure is almost three times more than last season.
The season-opening matchup between Clark's Indiana Fever and the Connecticut Sun recorded an average of 2.12 million viewers on ESPN 2, ESPN+ and Disney+, making it the most-watched WNBA game on any Disney platform in history.
Six days later, the Fever's rematch against the Sun on ESPN drew the largest TV audience for any WNBA game on the network with an average of 1.56 millions viewers.
Furthermore, merchandise sales have skyrocketed. The WNBA reports that the WNBAstore website has received a staggering increase in transactions of more than 756% compared to this time last year.
The basketball world went into a frenzy when the U.S. Olympic women's basketball team was announced on Saturday, mostly because Caitlin Clark was left off the roster.
While many fans were upset about this "snub," Clark reacted to the news with class by explaining how she wasn't disappointed to hear the news. Instead, she's using this as motivation to help her make the team for the 2028 Olympics.
"Honestly, no disappointment. I think it just gives you something to work for," Clark said, via Indy Star's Chloe Peterson. "It's a dream, hopefully one day I can be there. I think it's just a little more motivation. You remember that and hopefully in four years, when four years comes back around, I can be there."
Here are her full comments:
When it comes to not making the Olympic team, Caitlin Clark has nothing but praise for the 12 who made it: “it’s the toughest team to make.”
Instead of just focusing on herself, Clark shifted the conversation to talk about how excited she is for the 12 women who were named to Team USA.
"I'm excited for the girls that are on the team," Clark said. "I know it's the most competitive team in the world. I know it could've gone either way of me being on the team, me not being on the team. I'm excited for them. I'm going to be rooting them on to win gold."
Clark has helped bring in record crowds to Indiana Fever games this season, and her stardom was reportedly part of the reason she was kept off the Olympic team this year as the team worried how fans would "react to what would likely be limited playing time on a stacked roster."
Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark's omission from the Team USA basketball roster for the 2024 summer Olympics in Paris left fans outraged and many questioning the reason why she was snubbed.
According to a report from Christine Brennan of USA TODAY, there were concerns within Team USA of how Clark's millions of fans would "react to what would likely be limited playing time on a stacked roster."
The Team USA roster is loaded without a doubt, but Clark's presence, even on the end of the bench, would certainly drive marketing around the premier worldwide sporting event,
Instead, Clark will be at home this summer, enjoying a mid-season Olympic break from the WNBA to rest up and root for the players who did make the roster.
Clark tied a career-high with 30 points in Friday night's victory over the win-less Washington Mystics. In her first WNBA season, she is averaging 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists on 37.3% shooting from the floor.
The Fever take the court again on Monday against the Connecticut Sun, looking to capture their fourth win of the season.
Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark, who starred at Iowa and is a key reason for the boom in popularity of women's basketball over the last couple of years, was reportedly left off Team USA's roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
There's an argument to be made that Clark would be at the end of the bench if she did make Team USA this summer, but it's still a curious decision to leave her off the roster given her draw in media.
While Clark has been up-and-down in her first season as a professional, she brings eyeballs to the television and the arena, as exhibited by the sellout crowd of 20,333 in attendance to see Clark and the Fever take on the Washington Mystics on Friday night at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The sellout crowd was the largest WNBA crowd in 17 years.
Largest WNBA crowd in 17 years—20,333—sees Fever beat Mystics, 85-83.
Caitlin Clark makes 7 threes, scores 30 points, adds 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals.
Clark had her best game of her rookie season in front of that crowd, scoring 30 points on seven made threes, while adding eight rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Clark joins Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale as notable snubs for the summer Olympics roster. Here's who Team USA will be bringing instead, which is undoubtedly a loaded group.
The Team USA Women's Basketball Olympics roster has been announced, per @ShamsCharania and @joevardon 🇺🇸
A'ja Wilson Breanna Stewart Diana Taurasi Alyssa Thomas Brittney Griner Napheesa Collier Jewell Loyd Kelsey Plum Jackie Young Kahleah Copper Sabrina Ionescu Chelsea Gray pic.twitter.com/222FOOhAAh
On television draw alone, many expected Clark to make the roster. Now that she hasn't, basketball fans across social media are outraged.
Christian Laettner made the Dream Team. Caitlin Clark can’t make the women’s Olympic basketball team? What mostly pays for the Olympics — oh wait — revenue generated from broadcasting partners. As in TV. As in Caitlin is TV GOLD. Opportunity wasted.
Caitlin Clark has been left off the Olympic women’s basketball roster. Women’s basketball hates its fans and doesn’t want to grow their game. That’s the only conclusion you can draw from their treatment of Clark. She would quadruple their viewership by herself. No brainer.
I don’t know enough about USA women’s Olympic basketball to know if Caitlin Clark’s omission is a snub. I do know that, right now, she would be the only reason I would remotely care about USA women’s Olympic basketball. https://t.co/IAP8bulQXg
I really want to hear the decision making behind leaving Caitlin Clark off the USA Basketball roster. Because I can’t fathom an explanation that makes sense.
Caitlin Clark is a supporter of all women's sports, not just the WNBA.
Prior to Clark's game with the Indiana Fever on Friday night, an 85-83 Fever win over the winless Washington Mystics, the rookie was asked if she had tuned into Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks, which had tipped off Thursday night.
Clark's response was perfect.
Caitlin Clark was asked if she watched the NBA Finals last night: “I had the women’s college softball World Series on instead… there’s a girl that pitches for Texas who’s a freshman that actually lived a couple streets over from me growing up.”
"To be honest, I had the women’s college softball world series on instead," Clark said. "It was a little bit better of a game, but when I flipped back to the NBA... Yeah I was flipping back and forth."
"There’s a girl that pitches for Texas who’s a freshman that actually lived a couple streets over from me growing up, so I was rooting for the Texas Longhorns, unfortunately, they couldn't get it done. I think that's even just a great display of women's sports and where it's going. I've always been a big fan of women's softball and women's sports across the board, so I was moreso watching that."
Clark did acknowledge that she's watching the finals, though she also admitted that the Indiana Pacers, who lost to the Boston Celtics in the conference finals, not making it affected her interest levels a bit.
But the bigger point here is Clark's unwavering support for women's sports across the board. As arguably the biggest driver of interest in the WNBA at the moment, Clark has the ability to help lift up nearly any other women's sport she supports or has an interest in.
Clark was doing just that by bringing attention to the women's college softball world series.
Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark has been the biggest storyline of the 2024 WNBA season—from her debut last month against the Connecticut Sun to her 30-point gem against the Los Angeles Sparks to her occasional on-court struggles.
Geno Auriemma, who coached many current WNBA stars at UConn—from Diana Taurasi to Napheesa Collier to Breanna Stewart—weighed in on the on-court physicality that Clark has dealt with over her first 11 games.
"Is she facing the rookie challenge, the rookie hardships that are inherent with being a rookie? Yes," Auriemma told reporters in Connecticut on Tuesday. "She's also being targeted."
During the third quarter of the Fever's 71–70 win over the Chicago Sky on Saturday, Chennedy Carter slammed into Clark away from the basketball during an inbounding play. Clark said the foul was "not a basketball play," and Carter's coach Teresa Weatherspoon later said it was "not appropriate."
"I don't remember when [Michael] Jordan came into the [NBA], guys looking to go out and beat him up," Auriemma said. "I don't remember when [Larry] Bird and Magic [Johnson] came in the league and elevated the NBA, them getting targeted and getting beat up just because of who they were and the attention they were getting.
"Appreciate the fact that now's the time [for the WNBA]. I get it. It's long overdue. Why are you blaming that kid? It's not her fault, because you would trade places with her in a minute, but you are not there. You're not her. So, you're [complaining] that she's getting what she's getting."
After playing 11 games in less than three weeks, Clark and the Fever are resting until Friday night's matchup against the Washington Mystics.
Mainstream men’s sports punditry has discovered the WNBA, and I wish it hadn’t.
Popular programs like First Take and The Pat McAfee Show are typically preoccupied with the goings on in the NFL and NBA but have recently dedicated increased airtime to women’s basketball. This type of universal coverage, and the exposure it generates, is what women’s sports supporters and insiders have hoped for for decades. But now, it’s here, and it feels less like validation, and more like an affliction.
The heightened interest in women’s basketball centers around the cultural phenomenon of Catilin Clark. Her collegiate career at Iowa is nothing short of groundbreaking, and her generational talent rightfully earned her a boatload of loyal fans. Clark’s transition to the WNBA has been watched breathlessly, bringing an unprecedented level of attention to the league, buoying viewership, ticket sales and investment. With the Clark hype has come a flood of media scrutiny typically reserved for men’s sports leagues. The devolving discourse—which reached a fever pitch this week after the Chicago Sky’s Chennedy Carter committed a Flagrant 1 foul on Clark last Saturday—has exposed how unequipped a mainstream sports media dominated by men is for this moment.
"Who talks about the WNBA, who talks about women, who talks about women's sports more than First Take?" Stephen A. Smith asked Monica McNutt at the end of a 40-minute segment addressing the Carter foul on Clark on Monday’s show. "Stephen A., respectfully, with your platform, you could have been doing this three years ago if you wanted to,” McNutt responded, leaving Smith incredulous.
Directing that question at McNutt, an accomplished former collegiate basketball player herself and established broadcaster, is laughable. Smith’s stance that First Take bestowed McNutt, and the WNBA, with a platform they ought to be grateful for echoes the prevailing sentiment that the league’s players owe Clark a debt of gratitude. It’s patriarchal and condescending and fails to acknowledge the work of generations that has poured into the WNBA. McNutt later expanded on the exchange, saying, "I think what I was frustrated by in our conversation earlier is that we can hold more than one truth, y'all. The idea of some players being jealous, yes, that probably exists. But I think since Caitlin's made her debut, there's been a large and loud push that it's been Caitlin vs. the W."
The swirling commentary about Clark’s unfair treatment at the hands of WNBA veterans does the 22-year-old rookie a disservice too, evidenced by Pat McAfee’s bizarre defense (?) of the Fever star on Monday’s episode of his show. "I would like the media people that continue to say, 'This rookie class, this rookie class, this rookie class'. Nah, just call it for what it is — there's one white b---- for the Indiana team who is a superstar," McAfee said, in an attempt to praise Clark. He later apologized for his remarks.
First, let’s get the obvious point out of the way: It’s best not to refer to a professional athlete who one purports to revere in such derogatory terms. Second, the impulse to protect Clark is paternalistic and undermines her prowess as a physical and unrelenting competitor. Clark isn’t a meek person in need of shielding, nor is she a shrinking violet, leading the league in technical fouls (three). The racial overtones are hard to ignore too. Sky rookie Angel Reese—who has 3.3 million Instagram followers and can also be credited with the recent rise in popularity of women’s basketball—was pulled down by the Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas, who was ejected from the May 25 game due to the Flagrant 2 foul. There hasn’t been wall-to-wall coverage of that incident, nor has it inspired the same media firestorm that Carter’s hip check on Clark did.
The inclination to highlight the foul(s) on Clark alone exhibits an unfamiliarity with the WNBA. It’s a physical league, and things get chippy, just like in any other professional sport. Unlike other leagues, however, the WNBA boasts very few roster spots, meaning on any given night the most elite basketball players in the world are on the floor battling it out in highly competitive matchups. While “not appropriate,” as Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon categorized Carter’s foul on Clark, it is also not remarkable, nor is it a new occurrence.
Putting a spotlight on something the way many sports media personnel have with the WNBA, isn’t the same as illuminating it. What is coverage without curiosity? What is narrative without knowledge? What is an argument without good faith? All press is not in fact good press when, to McNutt’s point, Napheesa Collier’s standout season, Arike Ogunbowale’s 40-point game and A’ja Wilson’s MVP campaign are failing to break through. It’s starting to feel like men’s sports commentators’ newfound interest, or at least newly articulated interest, in women’s basketball, is being wielded as a cudgel, punishing any player, reporter or fan who isn’t just grateful to be here.
The WNBA is a 28-year-old league with a rich history despite its young age. It has a lore that includes rivalries, dynasties, beefs and ballers. It has a culture—from its players to its fans—that is uniquely women-led, queer and Black. The W is unlike any other sports league in the U.S., and it’s better for its singularity. The current commentary is not only shortchanging the players—rookies and vets alike—but it is also willfully ignorant about the WNBA’s mores, taking a vibrant league and coating it with dull commentary. The WNBA deserves better than what the current landscape of talking heads has to offer.
"Individuals who have never covered the WNBA before, don’t have the history to help provide context, don’t know the storylines or the players, but have large platforms and the loudest voices, are helping to fan the flames."
— Lyndsey D'Arcangelo 🏀 (@darcangel21) June 3, 2024
And since I'm on a soapbox, lemme just add that "talking" about a sport does not equal "covering" a sport. These ppl are TALKING about the WNBA. But they aint covering it. I haven't seen a single one of these high profile media personalities in the press conferences (1/2)
Actually, I’m lucky enough to have my own column, so I can tell you how much I hate these tweets and I will tell you how much I hate them.
First, and most important, I’m not trying to single out the writers of tweets. I’m not familiar with either of their work, but I’ve seen this take a lot over the past few weeks and these particular tweets were retweeted into my feed Monday and pushed me to write about it.
The theory that you have to be a long-time WNBA follower/watcher in order to voice an opinion about general issues regarding the league and the game is complete nonsense.
You don’t have to watch every WNBA game to know this is a cheap shot.
Anyone who knows anything about basketball knows this is a dirty play.
I agree that someone who doesn’t follow the WNBA shouldn’t be breaking down which team has the best defense or which coaches are great at X’s and O’s strategy. But the idea that unless you are a hardcore WNBA watcher you should shut up about anything related to the league goes against everything that is sports.
People are allowed to talk about a sport without covering that sport. People who have large platforms are allowed to weigh in on any sports topic they want if they think the general audience will respond, watch, or click.
What so many people seem to be forgetting about what’s going on with the WNBA right now is that sports are supposed to be fun. Sports are supposed to be entertaining. Sports are a watercooler topic. A huge part of sports fandom is arguing, offering opinions and debating. The WNBA has that right now because of Caitlin Clark.
Here's the other thing that’s going on here. Sports are also a business. It’s a business for companies and individuals who rely on page views, engagement, clicks, subscriptions, video views, etc. If the people in those businesses see that Clark drives those things (and she does), then they will give you as much Clark content as possible regardless of what their WNBA coverage has been in the past. This is just Business 101.
So if there’s a dirty play in any sport, or if a player gets a historic contract in any sport, or if a player sets ratings records in any sport, it’s going to get talked about by plenty of people who don’t follow the sport.
The other issue here is Clark has crossed over into the mainstream. She gets covered on the Today show, network evening news, People magazine, TMZ, etc. She is not just a sports figure at this point. She is also a pop-culture figure.
Whether you like it or not, more people are watching the WNBA and attending the WNBA because of Clark. That can’t be argued. And a lot of those people just care about Clark and not the WNBA. So people with small platforms, big platforms and no platforms are going to opine on any and everything related to Clark. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
2. In Monday’s Traina Thoughts, we told you about Monica McNutt pushing back against Stephen A. Smith on First Take about his coverage of the WNBA. Smith wanted credit for talking about the WNBA on the show and McNutt said, “Stephen A., respectfully, with your platform you could’ve been doing this three years ago if you wanted to."
Here’s the reality though. You know why Smith has covered the WNBA? And do you know why ESPN covers the WNBA? Because the network airs WNBA games. If you think ESPN would spend as much time covering the WNBA if they didn’t have television rights, I have three words for you: National. Hockey. League. ESPN gave the NHL very little coverage when it didn’t air games.
3. Good news for Good Morning Football fans. Kyle Brandt revealed Monday that he will remain with the show when it moves from New York City to Los Angeles later this summer. Brandt will be on the air five days a week. Jamie Erdahl has already announced that she’s making the move to California.
4. Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano, who appeared in 75 games for the San Diego last season, was suspended for life by Major League Baseball on Tuesday for betting on the sport.
Marcaho definitely seems like he enjoys placing a wager.
He was found to have placed 387 baseball bets from Oct. 16, 2022 to Nov. 1, 2023, totaling more than $150,000.
The problem is that 231 of those wagers included MLB games. The league says 25 of those bets included wagers on Pittsburgh Pirates games while he was on the team’s major league roster.
Here is MLB's account of the baseball betting by Tucupita Marcano that caused him to be banned from baseball "permanently."
231 bets on baseball Baseball bets totaling $87,319 25 bets on the Pirates while he was a Pirates player pic.twitter.com/WTEAslhqel
6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with Charles Barkley.
The Inside the NBA host discusses the possibility of TNT losing the NBA in the current television rights negotiations, his frustration with the lack of communication from Warner Brothers Discovery about the negotiations, whether the show could continue on another network, reaction from fans to the possible end of Inside the NBA, the awkwardness of still having to work next season for TNT if it loses the NBA beginning in the 2025–26 season, and the lack of loyalty from the NBA and what would make him decide between ESPN, NBC and Amazon if he became a free agent.
Barkley also goes off on CNN for never telling him that his show with Gayle King, King Charles, was canceled, he explains what could make him be the subject of a comedy roast, who the two nicest GOATs are in sports, the Lakers saying that LeBron James doesn't have a say in their coaching search and the reaction to his recent Caitlin Clark rant.
Following Barkley, Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY joins me for the weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week's topics include the passing of Bill Walton, Ángel Hernández's retirement from Major League Baseball, the mystery behind the Dov Kleiman Twitter account and the latest story about a restaurant charging for a ridiculous service.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Since I included Scott Van Pelt’s rant about going to the beach today, we should remember when happened when Larry David went to the beach.
