Killing the golden goose

To the players of the Women’s National Basketball Association:

You all want to get paid as well as your male counterparts in the NBA do. You made that clear at your league’s All-Star game when you wore pregame warm-up shirts stating, “Pay us what you owe us.” And with your union’s collective bargaining agreement with the league set to expire on Oct. 31, you’re understandably eager to negotiate a new CBA that compensates you well for being the most elite female basketball players in the country. I mean, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark currently earns an annual salary of less than $80,000 despite being your league’s most bankable star (and I know most of you can’t stand hearing that).

But you’re going about it all wrong. As the father of a teen daughter who wants to see young women have the opportunity you now enjoy—to play the sport you love and get paid for it—in the foreseeable future, I have some thoughts I think you need to hear.

Let’s start with Clark: Stop pummeling your league’s transcendent superstar on the court. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not asking you to let her bury jaw-dropping 3-pointers uncontested or fire passes to teammates in the low post without you attempting to force a turnover. By all means, defend her as best you can. And yes, I know basketball sometimes gets physical. Hard fouls occasionally do happen.

They should, however, be accidental. And Clark has been the target of hard fouls from players whose animosity toward her is both palpable and unabashed, Case in point: Brittney Griner. A viral video shows the Atlanta Dream center—the same WNBA player whom President Biden rescued from a Russian prison after she stupidly brought an illegal substance into the country—appearing to mouth the words “Trash (expletive) white girl” after fouling out of a game against Clark. (It was Clark whom she’d fouled.)

Griner’s apparent remark reflects the resentment many of you hold toward Clark. Perhaps the most prominent black star among you, Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson—winner of three league Most Valuable Player awards and two championships among numerous other accolades—has openly said as much.

Still, there’s no denying that Clark sells out arenas and draws TV ratings in a way the rest of you simply don’t. As of this writing, Clark had missed 13 games due to injury this season, including the All-Star game—your league’s biggest regular-season event. Ticket prices plummeted for that game because Clark wasn’t playing. The same goes for Indiana’s June 7 road game against the Chicago Sky, whose roster boasts Clark’s most bitter on-court rival, forward Angel Reese.

Face it: Fans don’t want to fork over money to watch Reese rack up “me-bounds” by repeatedly pulling down her own missed shots—easy ones to boot.

Which brings me to my next point: You need to improve your on-court product. Your All-Star game drew 2.19 million TV viewers—and that was with Clark on the sidelines. That number was down 36 percent from last year, when Clark did patrol the hardwood, but still 52 percent higher than the previous mark broken last year.

And what did fans tune in to see? Quality of play that not only incensed commentators who cover the league—ESPN’s Elle Duncan and retired WNBA legend Candace Parker among them—but even players such as Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers, Clark’s reported heir apparent in terms of drawing power. (The Wings’ June matchup against the Clark’s Fever sold out the entire arena, Dallas TV station WFAA reported.)

Clark even engenders hatred from opponents off the court. Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum has ripped Clark for not standing with her WNBA sisters on the pay issue—even though Clark wore the same warmup shirt demanding better compensation at the All-Star game.

Which brings me to my last piece of friendly advice: Stop being tone-deaf. The New York Post has reported that the WNBA will lose $40 million this season. In fact, the league has never turned a profit. Most leagues in your position would have long ago filed for bankruptcy, if not found themselves upon the ash heap of history.

Openly bashing Clark on and off the court isn’t going to make fans want to watch you. Elevating your respective games will. I understand that most of you can’t throw down thunderous backboard-shattering dunks like your taller, more muscular male counterparts in the NBA. And while your league boasts stellar 3-point shooters such as Clark and New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, neither player is the Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry—the greatest long-range shooter, male or female, professional basketball has ever seen.

Believe it or not, people want the WNBA to succeed. Nobody expects women’s basketball to be played the same way the men’s game is. But with the right displays of style and skill and some expert marketing, fans will give you the appreciation—and dollars—you’re craving.

The same eyeballs Clark is drawing are watching you, too. Be smart. Embrace it. If you run her out of the league, those eyeballs will go with her—along with the millions you’re gunning for.