Caitlin Clark’s return to the WNBA after a prolonged injury-laden season has taken the league by storm. But even then, the situation around her and the league is a bit uncomfortable, and its origin is far from the hardwood. It stems from the WNBA’s marketing strategy during the Seattle Storm game, which has even prompted analyst Jason Whitlock to react.

Speaking on his Fearless podcast, Whitlock lashed out at the WNBA’s decision not to use Clark in its promotional graphics ahead of the Storm game. Further, he made sure to address the Fever coaching staff to address their biases against Clark in the Storm game.

“What does the WNBA do and their social media team?” Whitlock said. “With the Indiana Fever playing the Seattle Storm on Sunday, the WNBA promotes the game, jucks the posing, the Indiana Storm player vs. the Seattle Storm player with Raven Johnson. The rookie point guard for the Fever that’s averaging 1 point per game and playing about 5-7 minutes per game.”

“You look at the Atlanta Dream vs. the Las Vegas Aces game, and they use A’ja Wilson and Angel Reese to promote the game. But when it comes to the Indiana Fever, we can’t promote Caitlin Clark, the biggest thing in women’s sports and the biggest thing in women’s basketball. Let’s avoid her,” Whitlock added further.

But for Clark, the graphic poster snub is just the tip of the iceberg. Whitlock feels that there’s a bit of resentment between the Indiana Fever and Clark as well. The assessment largely stems from an incident during the Seattle Storm game where CC got into an argument on the sidelines with assistant coach Briann January.

“Look at this video of her arguing with the assistant coach on the sidelines,” he said. “How does this happen when she’s playing the most efficient, most mature game and getting her teammates involved? And she’s arguing with the assistant coach on the sidelines? These people hate Caitlin Clark. They have Caitlin derangement syndrome,” he added.

Now, it doesn’t need detailed marketing knowledge to understand why Clark should have been on that promotional poster. It’s a staple of the sports circuit to use the biggest superstars on their teams as poster cutouts to appeal to the community.

Even in the NBA, the playoff series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder featured LeBron James and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in their promotional Instagram post. And, the WNBA follows the same roadmap.

As Whitlock said, the league used A’ja Wilson and Angel Reese during the Atlanta Dream-Las Vegas Aces matchup. So, going by this tried-and-tested formula, it was expected they would use Caitlin Clark for their post, given that the latter isn’t just the biggest superstar on the team but possibly the entire league.

Instead, they went with Johnson, who has barely played substantial minutes in the season. As a result, it gives Jason Whitlock a platform to showcase his dissent against the WNBA’s marketing. And to be honest, it isn’t just Whitlock to pinpoint in the public domain.

OutKick founder Clay Travis also echoed a similar sentiment. In an X post, Travis advised the WNBA to market its stars like Clark better.

“Was Michael Jordan ever not the lead graphic on any Bulls game when he was a member of the team?” he wrote. “You can say this is a small thing. But I would guarantee you Bill Cartwright, Luc Longley & Bill Wennington never got the promo graphic over Jordan. Sell the stars! Marketing 101.”

On the other hand, this isn’t the first time the Fever staff has come under fire for their behavior towards Clark. It also occurred after the Mystics game, when head coach Stephanie White was asked about CC’s performance.

Moments ago, Clark had literally bailed out the Fever in the fourth quarter. She even helped the team draw the scores in the dying seconds with a clutch three-pointer. But instead of focusing on Clark, White shifted the conversation to her team’s resilience.

The Fever’s head coach’s approach wasn’t well-received. Many thought White tried to snub Clark from her conversation. Clark’s argument with coach January amid a game in which the former is possibly the best player on the court (21 points and 10 assists) just adds to the developing narrative. And in the middle of it, another basketball analyst has shared his two cents on the matter.

Basketball Analyst Feels the Tussle Between Caitlin Clark and Fever Assistant Coach Is a One-Off

Despite the narrative surrounding the Fever assistant coach and Caitlin Clark, the source of the argument remains unknown. Neither Clark nor Stephanie White has shared an explanation for it. But Mick Curley from Mick Talk Hoops feels that the shelf life of the argument won’t last long.

“The thing is, from everything we’ve kind of seen with Clark, it does appear she’s the type of person where it’s like, if she thinks she’s right, she will continue to argue,” Curley said.

“It doesn’t matter who it’s with. It’s a common thing among high achievers. It’s a common thing among top-level athletes to argue with their coach. Especially, there is a mutual respect between the two. I don’t think this goes further than today.” Curley added.

Ever since Clark arrived in the WNBA, she’s been passionate and is often seen arguing with officials. Although she has faced criticism for it at times, Clark seems least bothered by it. The argument with January might be one of those instances where they will reconcile in the coming days.

Now, this might not impact the relationship between the Fever coaching staff and Clark. But the media narratives the community is building are quite unhealthy. And the franchise needs to address it loud and clear in the public domain.