rewrite this content and keep HTML tags (remove this from content : rewrite this content and keep HTML tags)
Caitlin Clark is widely popular. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that readers were quick to offer an opinion on her rise.
When we asked readers for their thoughts on the impact Caitlin Clark is having on the WNBA, we received hundreds of responses from all over the country. We asked for reader thoughts before her injury, which only proved how vital she is to the league’s health.
We heard from fans. We heard from skeptics. We heard from many of you who likely wouldn’t have had an opinion on the WNBA a few years ago. So now we give you a sampling of those responses as part of USA TODAY’s Forum, where we ask how you feel about what’s happened so far, and what you anticipate is coming next.
Without further delay, here is what some of you said about Clark’s ascension in the WNBA and the overall popularity of the league.
There was no girls’ basketball my senior year, so I couldn’t play. I’m a WNBA fan now!
I’ve been watching the WNBA and do so more now that the coverage and news about it is more prominent – thanks in large part to commentator Holly Rowe.
I am a Caitlin Clark fan. She has brought positive attention to women’s sports! Thank you, University of Iowa, to start with. But Clark and her family have shared solid values of hard work and integrity, and she respects the kiddos who follow her, signing jerseys and doing good things. Her foundation just put in playgrounds in her hometown.
Time will tell whether the popularity of the league will last, but I hope it’s here to stay. I played high school girls’ basketball in Iowa in the 1960s and got a varsity letter! Sadly we moved to Illinois my senior year, and sadly girls’ sports did not exist. That changed with Title IX and continues to expand opportunities for scholarships. (One of our sons is a high school English educator and a girls’ cross country coach.) Athletics build so many positive connections and opportunities!
I think the biggest issues facing women’s sports are funds and facilities. It takes budgets to support programs. So many programs emphasize academics, character, nutrition, mental health, training and team building and yet don’t get the same money or fame.
I think all women’s sports should get WNBA-level recognition. For example, Northwestern University women’s lacrosse just set a record and they got a blip on local news. Yes, the WNBA can sustain the public interest if they focus on positive things, not the conjectured “feuding” between players. They should protect Clark from overt fouling and get the refs not to allow it. It could be career ending.
I hope the other players see how Clark is kind and patient with her young fans and has character – and values faith and family and is unselfish. She’s a good role model.
— Ruth Anerino, Naperville, Illinois
WNBA newfound popularity likely short-lived
I don’t watch the WNBA – but I know who Clark is, though I don’t follow her.
I think she gets too much coverage. It’s like white women never played basketball before her. I don’t think that kind of coverage helps women’s sports. And I’m a White male saying this. Much of the coverage around Clark is negative coverage directed toward Angel Reese.
I think the newfound popularity of the WNBA is short-lived and will last only as long as Clark plays.
The biggest issue negatively affecting the sport is the stupid rules about revealing, clinging, sexualized uniforms that result in many girls starting a team sport subsequently quitting. Would guys play in those uniforms? Of course not.
Women’s hockey and soccer are far more interesting to me, personally. And I think they should be getting WNBA-level recognition.
— Julian Howard, Buffalo, New York
I came to watch Clark. Now I’m a fan of other players, too.
I’m a new WNBA fan and started watching in 2024. I’m also a Clark fan. Go Indiana Fever!
Clark gets the right amount of coverage. She is changing the WNBA and women’s sports for the better by drawing attention to it ‒ attention from all ages, especially little boys and little girls. And attention from around the world, not just in the United States. Overall, it’s for the better. But there definitely was an adjustment period in 2024 when there was a range of emotions about her play and media coverage. I believe a rising tide lifts all boats. I’m a fan of a lot more WNBA players after just one year because I wanted to watch Clark play.
I think the WNBA’s popularity is here to stay. For the league and other women’s sports, the biggest issues they’re facing are social media ugliness, not enough news coverage and injuries like ACL tears.
— Theresa Koster, Marietta, Georgia
WNBA reminds me of old-school basketball
I sometimes watch the WNBA. What I like about it is the game is played with screens and picks that remind me of old-school basketball.
I am a Clark fan – and I don’t think she gets too much coverage. She has made these women a crap load of money. They should appreciate what she is doing for all of the league.
I don’t know if the league’s current popularity is here to stay. But the biggest issues the WNBA and other women’s sports are facing are crude play and targeting fouls in games. As for other women’s sports that should be getting a high level of recognition, I’d say women’s soccer is one.
— Anthony Sowinski, Huntersville, North Carolina
I hope the WNBA is here to stay
I’m a Minnesota Lynx fan, and the team is one of the most successful WNBA franchises so I’ve been paying attention to the sport since the years of Maya Moore, Sylvia Fowles and Seimone Augustus.
With Clark, it isn’t that she gets too much attention but that many other great players don’t get enough. But I do think she is great for the game.
I hope the WNBA is here to stay, and I think the increased popularity (and visibility) of women’s college basketball helps the pro league. The younger players are great at self-promotion, and their fans follow them to the league.
Many people still view women’s sports as less entertaining and women athletes as less talented physically than men’s sports and athletes. And while media coverage has improved, it’s still harder to find women’s sports on TV than it is to find men’s. It’s tough to follow a sport you never see. Women and girls are still fighting for equitable coaching, facilities, equipment and news coverage at all levels. Equal pay is still an issue. And anti-trans legislation and policies also negatively impact girls and women as they reinforce outdated stereotypes and lead to the policing and judgment of women’s and girls’ bodies and abilities.
About other women’s sports, college and pro volleyball are both exciting to watch but are shorter durations than a lot of other sports. College gymnastics, with so many Olympians competing, is also a fun to watch.
— Jennifer Taffe, Bloomington, Minnesota
