Just yesterday, Olden Polynice called out the WNBA for failing to protect Caitlin Clark the way the NBA protected MJ. Byron Scott didn’t hold back either, saying, “If she’s not on the floor, the product is not as good. There’s no doubt about that,” underlining her undeniable impact. And yet, barely a day later, Clark once again found herself on the receiving end of the league’s bias.

On Tuesday morning, Paige Bueckers made her way onto The Jennifer Hudson Show, which has a tradition of pumping up its guests by sending them through a tunnel of cheering staff before they step on stage. As she walked down the hallway, the staff broke into song: “Paige Bueckers at J Hud, shooting buckets, she’s the one.” Bueckers danced along, but suddenly stopped in surprise when she noticed WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert waiting at the end of the tunnel with her Rookie of the Year trophy.

“Bet I’m the last person you thought you’d see on this cool spirit tunnel,” Engelbert said with a smile, before handing her the award. The room quickly erupted into chants of “rookie of the year” in celebration of the Wings star. But this celebration didn’t sit well with many. As NYT best-selling author Christine Brennan noticed it too, she couldn’t help but dive in.

“I was with the Fever last year for my book so I witnessed this up close. Both Fever playoff games were in Conn so tough to do it there. But plenty of time that next week to do a TV show or Indy event to celebrate CC, which also would create even more interest in the WNBA. But no,” she penned on X. Considering that Brennan has penned a book titled “On Her Game” on Clark, it makes sense why she jumped in with such a stance.

When news broke that Bueckers had won the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year award with 70 of 72 votes, nobody was shocked. Her head coach, Chris Koclanes, had already declared her the obvious winner. But here’s where it stings: CC, with 66 of 67 votes, was just as clear a Rookie of the Year the season before.

But the Indiana Fever sensation never got anything close to what Bueckers did. When she won, Indy was gearing up for a playoff series against the Sun. Time was tight, yes, but instead of creating a headline-worthy moment, Engelbert simply called her after practice to break the news. No cameras. No stage. No celebration. So, you know why fans are fired up. But is it just about differentiating between two players? No.

How did Cathy miss out on a golden opportunity last year?

When CC came in last year, she was more of a global icon. Her production as a scorer, her logo threes, and playmaking helped the Fever to a playoff berth. And she was doing all this while breaking over 19 rookie records, producing one of the best rookie years we’ve ever seen. She even urged people to keep their eyes on the W, and even forced them to empty their wallets, which resulted in WNBA arenas getting filled up to 94%.

As analysed by Dr Ryan M Brewer, an associate professor of Finance at Indiana University Columbus, CC already accounted for 26.5% of the league’s economic activity in her rookie year. And not just that, Brewer also estimated that CC has the potential to exceed $1 billion this year.

So, if Cathy Engelbert had promoted Clark more last year, it would’ve been possible to generate more revenues and maybe attract more eyes to the league. Christine Brennan had talked about this earlier in July as well.

“The way she (Engelbert) has trouble talking about Caitlin Clark, or if she’s asked about Caitlin, she’ll say Caitlin and Angel. Well, she wasn’t asked about Angel, you know? She was asked about Caitlin. This incredible inability to deal with the facts and state the obvious, it is astounding to me,” Brennan had said, adding, “It does make you wonder, me as a human being, what’s going on, and why is it still so bad and so opposite of what any capitalist company (do)? It’s capitalism 101. You’ve got someone here. Run with it.”

So, do you also think that Engelbert did lose the opportunity to capitalize on the “Caitlin Clark effect” last year?