The deadline for WNBA’s Collective Bargaining negotiations has come and gone and four days ago the WNBA and WNBAPA agreed to a 30-day extension to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement.
As the league, players and fans brace for a potential work stoppage in 2026, Caitlin Clark has been on the low, attending golf events, working on her game and saying very little about how the groin and ankle injuries that limited her to 13 games last season are progressing. The 2024 Rookie of the Year announced on Sept. 4 that she was shut down for the season, prior to the Indiana Fever making a Kelsey Mitchell-led run to the semifinals.
The WNBA is a new phenomenon for many people, especially men who never followed women’s basketball or are fringe sports fans to begin with. Many celebrities who don’t closely follow the game but follow the social media wars have made up their minds that Clark is the WNBA’s cash cow, she’s the reason for any advancement the women’s game has made in the past few years and continue to push the narrative that she’s mistreated and her injuries are a result of the league letting “jealous” players pound on her.
Stephen A. Smith, Dr. Phil and Bill Maher Glaze Caitlin Clark
Stephen A. Smith, who has become as strong a voice on politics and social issues as sports appeared on Bill Maher’s show in August, along with Dr. Phil, and the Caitlin Clark glazing was at an all-time high.
“Catilin Clark is the cash cow,” SAS said. “She is box office, when she plays the ratings go up, revenue goes up, interest goes up. When she doesn’t play it plummets. 36 percent drop in the ratings this All-Star weekend for the WNBA. Last year she didn’t miss a game. This year she missed games. That is a person that everything she touches with women’s basketball turns to gold. They didn’t have charter jets until she arrived. She arrived and they had charter jets literally two weeks later.”
Maher asked Smith if Clark was the best women’s player in the game. To which Smith honestly replied:
“She’s very good. She’s not the best player, but she’s damn good. She was fourth in the MVP voting last year,” he replied. Smith added that Clark had an opportunity to be that this year but noted that her injuries caused her season to get cut short and her stats to decline across the board as her numbers dipped in shooting percentage, three-point shooting percentage and assists.
That’s when Dr. Phil rehashed the old narrative about players bring jealous of Clark and maliciously trying to maim her.
“I wonder if she’s having those injuries because they are slamming her ass into the court every time she runs down there. I mean she’s really getting roughed up and fouled a lot, you’re going to get a lot of injuries if you’re being slammed,” said the world-famous life “therapist”
Social Media Argues Over Who Is Going To Be Bigger Star: Caitlin Clark Or JuJu Watkins
The celebration of CC, turned into a debate about whether or not JuJu Watkins will become a more popular player.
CC is the most popular player right now. But JuJu Watkins is coming. She can ball and she’s beautiful too. And she has all the sponsors and Klutch sports supporting her
“JuJu is already a superstar according to her sponsors, Nike, Gatorade, State Farm, Celsius, Degree, United Airlines, NYX Professional Makeup, Mercedes Benz, Dove, Ritz Crackers, Taco Bell, Wells Fargo, Poppi, Estee Lauder and Spotify,” said one fan on X before listing Watkins’ many NIL sponsorships and brand collaborations.
JuJu Watkins Recovering From ACL, Will Miss ’25-26 Season: Caitlin Clark Fans Not Buying The Hype
Of course, we will have to wait a while to see JuJu back on the court as she suffered an ACL tear in the NCAA tournament last season and is currently rehabbing. The USC star expects to miss the entire 2025-26 women’s college basketball that just started.
“Juju is a great player, but she doesn’t draw eyeballs like CC because CC is white America’s great white hope,” reasoned one fan on X.
“It’s already flooded,” said one Caitlin Clark fan. “The WNBA was the underground garage band from your local city. Then Clark camera and they’re touring worldwide and on the radio 24/7…What’s Juju gonna do? It’s already done.
“She’s a good player, but doesn’t have the “it” factor.
No matter how you shape it, Caitlin Clark is a name that creates explosive opinions that evoke emotions and contrasting perspectives. She will continue to be at the center of debates as long as she plays.
