Christine Brennan Tears Into WNBA Commissioner Over Caitlin Clark Treatment

Christine Brennan, the longtime USA Today Sports columnist, has a book coming out this week about Caitlin Clark and while promoting it over the weekend she took some pointed shots at WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and how the league has handled Clark in her first two seasons with the Indiana Fever.

Brennan, who on Sunday shared an excerpt from her book about a controversial moment she was involved in during the WNBA playoffs last year, said she has been surprised by how Engelbert and the league haven’t done enough to stand up for Clark, especially after the guard has taken some ugly hits from opponents early in her career.

She had this to say during an appearance on WHO13 News in Iowa on Sunday:

“The way (Englebert) 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. How Cathy Engelbert doesn’t come out after the Marina Mabrey hit and say, ‘That’s unacceptable, the refs got it wrong. You should have been kicked out then. You weren’t. But now I’m going to kick you out and now you’re suspended for another game or two.’  That’s just unacceptable behavior for someone who’s that important to the league or to any player, right? (The league) can’t do that. They seem paralyzed. But 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—it’s capitalism 101—you’ve got someone here. Run with it.”

Clark has missed the Fever’s last five games due to a groin injury suffered on a meaningless play against the Seattle Storm. Indiana’s next game is Wednesday when it hosts Golden State at 12 p.m. ET. Clark’s status for that one not yet known.

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