rewrite this content and keep HTML tags (remove this from content : rewrite this content and keep HTML tags)
WNBA can’t quit complaining.
The WNBA is more popular than ever.
While good players have come through the league like Maya Moore or Diana Taurasi, second-year Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark is putting forth a never-before-seen level of skill that draws record crowds.
Yet, as a white player in a predominantly black league, the WNBA seems hesitant to fully market its biggest star.
On Thursday night, fans tuning into the Atlanta Dream versus Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever were greeted with one of the ugliest court designs since James Naismith invented basketball.
ATLANTA – A general view of the slogan “Pay Some Respect to Women’s Sports” on center court at State Farm Arena as the Atlanta Dream launch this campaign prior to the game against the Indiana Fever on May 22, 2025. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA – Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever speaks during a press conference before the game against the Atlanta Dream at State Farm Arena on May 22, 2025. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
The Dream’s home court was a matte black eyesore, but the real offense was at center court: a barely legible scrawl in a garish font proclaiming, “Pay Some Respect To Women’s Sports.”
The WNBA got an inch and took all 94 feet.
Worse, it carried a desperate, tone-deaf message that underscores the league’s struggle to capitalize on its newfound success — success largely driven by Caitlin Clark.
It’s a message so condescending it’s no wonder the WNBA – seemingly forgetting that the people at the game and tuning in on TV probably already do “respect women’s sports” otherwise they wouldn’t be consuming women’s sports – keeps tripping over its own potential.
“Women don’t support women’s sports for S**T,” a fan responded on X.
Another said, “It just exhausting at this point folks.”
Even Atlanta Dream head coach Karl Smesko wore a shirt during a pre-game interview with the “Respect Women’s Sports” slogan.
(sigh) We get it.
ATLANTA – Head coach Karl Smesko of the Atlanta Dream speaks during a press conference before the game against the Indiana Fever at State Farm Arena on May 22, 2025. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
The court’s message doesn’t celebrate the product — it begs you to watch because it’s women playing. In sports, a meritocracy, respect isn’t owed for identity but earned through skill. Respect women’s sports? The league doesn’t even protect its players, so why lecture the audience?
Ignore the WNBA’s decades-long struggle with a lackluster product or the racial politics that often overshadow it.
Instead of addressing their viewership problem as a skill issue — which it is — the league demands your attention because it’s the “right” thing to do for women’s sports.
Ask the WNBA if it would protect women’s sports by keeping trans athletes out of competition, and it would likely disagree, even supporting trans inclusion.
So, respect isn’t the problem — it’s the league’s lack of self-awareness.
The WNBA can’t stop lamenting its low viewership.
Rather than changing the narrative, the WNBA is blaming you, the fan, for not “respecting” women’s sports enough.
Good luck with that.
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
