The WNBA should get its act together for Caitlin Clark’s second year

Caitlin Clark’s rookie season in the WNBA was unlike anything the league had ever seen up until that point. The Indiana Fever star took home WNBA Rookie of the Year, as well as unprecedented attention from all corners of the sports world. With an offseason to prepare, the WNBA needs to be ready for year two of the Caitlin Clark experience.

Clark’s competitive fire might be second to none in the WNBA. Former Fever coach Christie Sides told Bleacher Report, “When you talk about greats in this game, the Michael Jordan’s and the Kobe Bryant’s and the Steph Curry’s, they are putting her in that category. She has that level of competitiveness in her and she wants everyone on her team to have that…” Unfortunately for Clark, this unbridled desire has teetered on the edge of recklessness.

Clark was given six technical fouls during her rookie campaign, which fell one short of the threshold that would have automatically suspended her for one game. Since her first month in the WNBA, Clark has made her feelings known that she thinks she’s getting the short end of calls. She told the New York Post in May 2024, “I feel like I’m getting hammered, I don’t know.”

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Clark knows that she has to keep her emotions in check. She told the New York Post after a September 2024 game, “I think there’s definitely a line. I was frustrated and thought I got fouled a couple times in the second half on mid-range jump shots. It happens. Sometimes you get calls, sometimes you don’t. It is what it is. I think I could have done a little bit better job controlling my own emotions.”

With that said, Clark was miffed at some of the technicals called on her as a rookie. She told Yahoo Sports about one experience that a referee “told me it was disrespectful to the game of basketball. Had nothing to do with my team, had nothing to do with the reffing, had nothing to do with the other team. It’s just because I’m a competitor, and I felt like I should have been making more shots.”

Be that as it may, the WNBA and its officials need to have a plan for Clark in year two. Granted, they cannot afford to let her do whatever she wants, but they also need to be smarter about the technicals they do send her way. An emotional outburst directed at no one in particular can probably be glossed over, for example.

Fans go to the arena and tune in to WNBA games to watch Clark specifically, so the league needs to be careful about putting her in a position where she might be forced to miss time. At the same time, the Fever star needs to mature and understand that not every missed call is the end of the world.

There was an unfortunate incident that came to light during the offseason, highlighting a man who was arrested for stalking Clark. As ESPN reported, Michael Lewis was brought into custody for sending explicit messages to Clark, as well as stating he was following her every move. He allegedly wrote, “I’m getting tickets, I’m sitting behind the bench” and “They said I was sending threatening texts… But the only thought on my mind was… CAITLINNNNNNNNNNN.”

While this matter involved one person, there’s a chance that Clark’s emerging stardom will prompt others to engage in crude behavior towards the Indiana franchise player. The WNBA and the Fever have to take this seriously by providing enough security around Clark so that no one with cruel intentions can get anywhere near her.

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This should also include increased monitoring of cyber or digital threats directed at the Fever star, as there are many different forms of harassment in this day and age.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert found herself in some hot water in September 2024 after not condemning fans who supported Clark of racist language on various platforms. When Engelbert was on CNBC and was asked about this issue, she said, “But the one thing I know about sports is you need rivalry. That’s what makes people watch. They want to watch games of consequence between rivals. They don’t want everybody being nice to one another.”

Several star WNBA players spoke out against Engelbert’s response, or lack thereof, against the problem that racist language poses. Engelbert did eventually apologize and clarify her statement, but this is the type of slippery slope the league needs to navigate better in Clark’s second season.

Former Connecticut Sun star Alyssa Thomas told Forbes, “I think that in my 11-year career I never experienced the racial comments like from the Indiana Fever fan base.” The WNBA should be on high alert for this during Fever games, as well as during all other games. The perception is that the league doesn’t care about this problem as much as they should, and they need to take steps to correct that.

While it might seem like overkill for Clark to be featured anywhere and everywhere, the appetite for the Indiana Fever star seems to have no limits. The league can’t overtly show favoritism towards her in marketing efforts, but she needs to be in the middle of most campaigns the league launches, along with accomplished stars like A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart.

For example, the WNBA opted not to put Clark’s face on a playoff poster in September 2024, which drew the ire of fans. It would be like the NBA choosing not to feature young stars like Cade Cunningham or Tyrese Haliburton on promotional material, and Clark is arguably more famous than both of them.

Leagues hope for transcendent players and personalities to come in and define an era, and Clark has already shown that she is one of those unique individuals. The WNBA needs to make sure that they maximize the Caitlin Clark effect, while also providing a safe environment for their players and fans.

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