Around mid-June, my Youtube algorithm started recommending drama on Cailin Clark and the WNBA and how she was left off the USWNT for the Olympics this year. I've gone down a bit of a rabbit hole since then, and I find it fascinating how toxic WNBa culture appears to be. WNBA has been the laughing-stock of US professional sports for as long as I can remember, and finally a player comes along in Caitlin Clark with the power to transform the landscape of the sport, and it seems the old guard of the WNBA is trying to sabotage her at every turn.
Here are a couple of videos I found particularly interesting:
This first video is a good summary of a lot of the drama that has happened between the greater part of the WNBA and Caitlin Clark. I also learned in this video that the NBA helps to fund the WNBA to keep it in business because the league is hemorrhaging money every season and would have shut down long ago if not for the NBA due to poor ratings and the lack of fan support.
Here's another video in which Shannon Sharpe and Stephen A. debate Chiney Ogwumike and Andraya Carter on the significance of Caitlin Clark being left off the USWNT this summer. I know Stephen A and Shannon Sharp are pretty polarizing figures in sports journalism: you either love them or hate them. But they made some excellent aruments in this video for why leaving Caitlin Clark off the Olympic team was a huge mistake.
The most important part of Stephen A. and Shannon's argument is the missed marketing opportunity of including Clark on the USWNT. Chiney and Andraya's argument is that Clark got the snub because team USA is worried about getting gold and wanted to build a team with experience. The problem with this from my perspective is: greater America has been largely indifferent to USWNT winning gold in the past because of how poorly perceived the WNBA is. And while the buzz/fan-following surrounding Clark had the potential to change that this summer, they've forfeited that opportunity now by snubbing her from the USWNT.
Curious to know what others thing about all this and if anyone has any further insight into the culture of the WNBA and why it appears to be so toxic?
Here are a couple of videos I found particularly interesting:
This first video is a good summary of a lot of the drama that has happened between the greater part of the WNBA and Caitlin Clark. I also learned in this video that the NBA helps to fund the WNBA to keep it in business because the league is hemorrhaging money every season and would have shut down long ago if not for the NBA due to poor ratings and the lack of fan support.
Here's another video in which Shannon Sharpe and Stephen A. debate Chiney Ogwumike and Andraya Carter on the significance of Caitlin Clark being left off the USWNT this summer. I know Stephen A and Shannon Sharp are pretty polarizing figures in sports journalism: you either love them or hate them. But they made some excellent aruments in this video for why leaving Caitlin Clark off the Olympic team was a huge mistake.
The most important part of Stephen A. and Shannon's argument is the missed marketing opportunity of including Clark on the USWNT. Chiney and Andraya's argument is that Clark got the snub because team USA is worried about getting gold and wanted to build a team with experience. The problem with this from my perspective is: greater America has been largely indifferent to USWNT winning gold in the past because of how poorly perceived the WNBA is. And while the buzz/fan-following surrounding Clark had the potential to change that this summer, they've forfeited that opportunity now by snubbing her from the USWNT.
Curious to know what others thing about all this and if anyone has any further insight into the culture of the WNBA and why it appears to be so toxic?
