It is the dawn of a new age for women’s sports in the USA since people are turning on their television to witness the likes of Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, and many more. But what’s also a sad sight to witness is that all the names that are listed above are only familiar because they belong to the WNBA, which is where most of the national coverage pans to instead of any other sports.

Robert Griffin III, the former QB for the Washington Commanders, took to X, to point out how the WNBA receives more coverage than any other sport. He mentioned Caitlin Clark in his tweet since she single-handedly increased the viewership of the WNBA when she made her professional debut on May 14 at the Connecticut Sun, which drew in 2.12 million viewers, the most for a WNBA game since 2001. As such, he listed the names of Sha’Carri Richardson and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, to highlight the major gap in recognition.

Robert Griffin shares an important message for the women in track

On 5th June, Robert Griffin released a video on X, where he was seen talking distinctively about the lack of coverage that athletes like Sha’Carri Richardson receive. The former QB also released a list of over 25 women athletes who deserve more viewership than they’re getting since the likes of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are already taking WNBA and women’s sports to a whole new level.

Griffin wanted to highlight the underappreciated track athletes and started with an inspiring story of Sha’Carri Richardson. He said, “Sha’Carri Richardson? I assure you, globally, people know who that is.” He further explained how someone who has overcome personally to get to where she is, deserves more recognition, “So, for a woman who overcame massive obstacles, not only in her life but last year, losing badly in races and going on a redemption tour to make sure that she can put her stake in the ground to claim the territory as the fastest woman in the world.”

Thus, Griffin’s message comes in response to the lack of recognition given to women throughout all sectors of sports amid the national hype that is being given solely to the WNBA. To put things in perspective, here is a comparison between the viewership that the sports of track and WNBA receive, respectively.

WNBA v/s Track and Field in terms of audience

There is no doubt about the fact that the WNBA is full of pizazz and glamor that ends up overtaking several other American sports. Moreover, since basketball is such a culturally rooted sport, it is easy to figure out why the American audience prefers it over any other sport. But with that being said, the lack of eyeballs on other hardworking athletes ends up undermining their talents and their efforts in trying to make the country proud.

For example, the coverage of the World Track and Field championships received an average of over 834,000 viewers across broadcast networks like NBC, USA Network, and CNBC, which was a 4-time increase over the 2019 number which stood at 199,000. When we look at the giant that the WNBA is, the game between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever, which took place on 1st June, amassed an average viewership of over 1.54 million. The disparity is right there in the open for everyone to see and it’s almost disheartening to see the athletes pour their blood, sweat, and tears into their love for the sport, only for it to go unheard and unseen.