Suns Announcer Says Caitlin Clark Is “Not the League” After Colin Cowherd’s Bold Claim

It’s official. Caitlin Clark has been ruled out for the rest of the WNBA season. No longer sitting at the edge of our seats before games, waiting for something to change in the injury reports. Fans are disappointed, but the league itself is showing no signs of slowing down. Amid historic CBA negotiations and record-breaking attendance, the WNBA is proving that its surge in popularity is about more than just one player. Still, some analysts, like Colin Cowherd, can’t resist a bold claim.

The Fox Sports 1 analyst has made some arguable statements on the WNBA many times. This time is not different. But it is a bit out there. “Caitlin Clark is the league,” Cowherd declared. “I don’t know what the ratings are. I haven’t read them. But I know last year with Caitlin Clark, if the game was on, I would drive on, making it a point, ‘Hey, when’s that game on?’ Angel Reese is a good player. And I think she is valuable as a counter punch as a bit of a college and pro rival to Caitlin Clark.”

Cowherd’s opinion has been a central point of debate, and it didn’t take long for Suns announcer Eddie A. Johnson to step in. He directly addressed the Cowherd on X.com, stating, “Colin stop man! These women can play and they try to play the right way every night.”

Clark announced on social media on Thursday night that she will not be returning for the rest of the season. She had missed 28 games so far, including the last 19. When she was on the floor, she was not the usual CC as injuries hampered her.

Johnson addressed that as he further claimed in response to Colin’s statement, “Caitlin has not had a good sophomore year when healthy. She is talented, but she is not the league. Show some respect my man. !”

In CC’s absence, it has been the Paige Bueckers show, but everyone knows she’s injury-prone, too. Even Angel Reese missed several games due to injuries. Cameron Brink is not overexerting herself in her comeback. The WNBA is facing an extension of the NBA’s injury curse, and fans are feeling the lack of superstars.

Not everyone agrees with Eddie A. Johnson, but numbers tell a different story

Eddia A. Johnson might be in the minority because a good portion of fans agreed with Colin Cowherd. Or at least the ones who bothered to tweet about it. As Johnson is prone to do, he didn’t stop at a single post. He was ready for a debate. In fact, a fan tried to claim that Johnson doesn’t watch WNBA games either. He responded, “I called W games for 4 years and I watch all the time. I am wrong person to question my pedigree.” 

The former NBA player double-timed announcing duties with both the Phoenix Suns and Mercury. While he praises Caitlin Clark, he’s also shown equal admiration for the other female basketball players. Since last year, he’s been vehemently against disrespect to the W’s underrated stars. And the numbers back him up.

The league officially broke its single-season attendance record in August, attracting over 2.5 million fans to games around the country—a new mark set in 30 fewer games than the previous record. The ratings also tell a powerful story.

The WNBA is averaging 794,000 viewers through 56 nationally televised games this year, a 21% jump from last season’s average. Non-Fever broadcasts have seen an even more drastic growth, up 37% and averaging 549,000 viewers. The only major ratings dip was for the All-Star game, which saw a 36% decrease from last year’s record-breaking event, a clear sign of Clark’s star power. But outside of that one event, the league’s growth has been widespread, with a CBS game without Clark pulling in over 1.9 million viewers.

This widespread growth across networks like ESPN (+3%), Ion (+4%), and NBA TV (+58%) suggests that fan interest is no longer singular. It reflects a broader engagement with teams, rivalries, and emerging talent across the board.

Whether it is Caitlin’s league or not is for social media to debate. But as the WNBA’s viewership booms, record attendance, and ongoing labor negotiations demonstrate, the league has grown far beyond its reliance on any one player.