Caitlin Clark is the talk of the town once again, especially the kind of physicality she faces in the league. That has been the case ever since she joined the WNBA in 2024. Every hard foul, missed whistle, and controversial call involving the Indiana Fever star has reignited questions over whether the league is doing enough to protect its biggest attraction. So, after another week dominated by those discussions, Barstool Sports‘ Dave Portnoy unloaded on the W during an appearance on The Will Cain Show.
“It’s the worst-marketed league in the history of leagues,” the founder of Barstool Sports said. “They’re absolute morons. That’s the answer. Sophie [Cunningham] is right! Clark gets treated and attacked and harassed differently than virtually every player. She’s had it since she entered the league; people are watching [Caitlin Clark] specifically, people are watching the league specifically for Caitlin.
“You see her getting abused – in no whistle and no suspensions. And you’d have quotes from team owners, from players, from the commissioner that was just asinine. They just don’t want to accept how important she is. The only reason they are flying private is because of her,” he further added.
His frustration stems largely from everything that unfolded during the Indiana Fever’s matchup against the Phoenix Mercury last week.
In the second quarter of that game, cameras caught Alyssa Thomas making contact with Caitlin Clark’s throat during a loose-ball scramble, a play officials missed in real time. Then, in the third quarter, Clark was eventually forced to the locker room with a back injury after Mercury forward Valériane Ayayi crowded her landing space on a three-point attempt.
Now, after reviewing the Thomas incident, the WNBA upgraded the play to a Flagrant 2 foul and suspended the Mercury star for one game. But by then, the debate was already far bigger than just one missed play.
“This type of s– happens every single game to her, and the league and the refs do absolutely nothing about it,” Sophie Cunningham said in an episode of Show Me Something earlier this week.
But the alleged disrespect towards Clark doesn’t end here.
Earlier, the WNBA unveiled its special 30th-anniversary commemorative poster featuring many of the league’s biggest stars. So, given the unprecedented attention and viewership Caitlin Clark has brought to the league, many expected her to be included. But her omission from the poster quickly added fuel to an already growing debate about how the league treats its biggest star. And when the Phoenix game happened, the internet broke.
However, not everyone agrees that Clark is being mistreated.
Speaking on Speak Easy, former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho argues that while Clark played a transformative role in expanding the WNBA’s audience, the league has now reached a point where the constant focus on her has become more of a distraction than a benefit.
“The (WNBA), at this junction in time, would be better off without Caitlin Clark because she is a bigger distraction than she is an additive,” he said. “Caitlin Clark has gotten the WNBA over the necessary threshold they needed. Now people are watching. Now we realize, ‘Oh, there’s talent in the W – talent that’s actually even greater than Caitlin Clark.’
“And I’m not just talking about bigs like (A’ja Wilson). I’m talking about Olivia Miles. I’m talking about Paige Bueckers. Hell, I’m talking about Kelsey Mitchells.
“Caitlin got the necessary eyes there, but now that the eyes are there, we don’t necessarily need her anymore.”
These contrasting opinions from Portnoy and Acho highlight just how divided the conversation surrounding Clark has become.
On one side, the recent string of incidents reinforces concerns that the league hasn’t done enough to protect or promote the player who has brought unprecedented attention to the WNBA.
For others, the continued focus on Caitlin Clark is overshadowing the league’s broader growth and the depth of talent across its rosters. Either way, the debate around this topic is showing no signs of slowing down.