Caitlin Clark has undoubtedly been the WNBA’s crown jewel ever since her arrival in this landscape. She has boosted the league’s business in a way no other player could. But former NFL player Emmanuel Acho feels that the league can be better without its crown jewel at this point.

“The W at this junction would be bigger without Caitlin Clark because she is a bigger distraction than she is an additive,” Acho said on the Speakeasy podcast. “Caitlin Clark has gotten the WNBA over the necessary threshold they needed. Now people are watching, and now we realize there’s talent in the WNBA, talent that’s actually greater than Clark.

“I’m not just talking about bigs like A’ja. I am talking about Olivia Miles, Paige Bueckers, and I am talking about the Kelsey Mitchells.”

Throughout the season, Caitlin Clark’s name has been steered toward controversy and uncomfortable noise. Right from her episodes with head coach Stephanie White, which began with the latter’s off-ball experiments, to a sideline tussle in the Portland Fire game, the media haven’t missed a beat in giving it a negative spin.

Now, her latest physical altercation during the Phoenix Mercury game, which led to a one-game suspension for Alyssa Thomas, has added to the ongoing drama around her.

While these weren’t enough, Clark’s snub from the WNBA 30th anniversary poster has made the narrative worse. These controversies have completely shifted the attention from CC’s on-court performances and numbers.

“You’re saying that the WNBA needs to be cognizant of where they put Caitlin Clark on posters,” Acho said. “The WNBA and the officials need to alter the rules for Clark. The WNBA and the opposing players need to treat Clark more gently.

“Clark’s coach needs to be cognizant of how she talks to her in public because it’s gonna look like there’s an issue. Unless we can take off our gloves for Clark and stop trying to act like she’s a messiah, the WNBA could and would be better off without Clark.”

Emmanuel Acho’s assessment does make sense. Time and again, the league and the Fever coaching staff have been reminded this season that even a minute’s inconsistency around Clark can lead to endless threads on social media.

But it needs to be understood that Clark alone isn’t at fault here in this situation. It’s more about the social media narratives and the by-product of her stellar fandom. Clark never bragged about her altercation with Stephanie White, nor did she complain about her absence from the poster.

Nevertheless, the noise is undoubtedly drifting her conversation away from basketball, one that was supposed to be her stronghold. This is where the caveat lies, and Acho rightly pointed out that neither a league nor a franchise can be dictated by the beneficiaries of a single player.

But there are too many caveats in Acho’s assessment as well.

The single most important question is: Can the WNBA retain a similar level of fandom without Clark?

Here’s the thing: Irrespective of the controversies, there’s no space to deny that CC is still one of the best in the business. On the hardwood, she still terrorizes defenses and bends strategies.

The arenas still get filled up watching her boss the opposition. In short, she is still an important contributor to the league’s business. Acho does make a case for Olivia Miles and Paige Bueckers as superior alongside Caitlin Clark, but can they contribute to the league at the same level as Clark? Possibly not.

As per a report from Covers last month, Clark is still the most marketable WNBA athlete. Thus, the controversies swirl around Clark. But giving up entirely on her can be disastrous beyond comprehension for the WNBA.