The start to life in the WNBA life has been anything but rosy for Caitlin Clark. While the rookie struggles to adjust to the league’s standards, her contemporaries make her life even harder by questioning her worth. However, despite all the odds heavily stacked against her at the moment, Jeff Teague decided to display faith in her publicly, brutally hitting back at her doubters.
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During the latest Club 520 Podcast episode, the NBA champion expressed his viewpoint on the scenario. Initially referencing Chennedy Carter’s, “Besides three-point shooting, what does she bring to the table, man?” [per Athlon Sports] statement, Teague made his distaste abundantly clear.
The former NBA man then made sure to let the WNBA know just what Clark has done for the league by simply being there, specifically pointing out how the players get to ride on charter jets now. Eventually, he mentioned that it all boiled down to the same problem.
“It’s like what the people say afterward, like, ‘What she do good? Just shoot threes?’. It’s like, ‘Nah n***a, she got y’all charter jets. She got eyeballs on your game. What are you talking about?’…You know it’s real hate. That’s a real hate moment”.
This put into perspective the value Clark had added to this league since coming on board. The presence of the Indiana Fever youngster has undoubtedly resulted in a rapid surge in viewership and interest around the league. And due to the financial benefits of this aspect, WNBA players have been able to enjoy a more luxurious experience.
Yet, none of Clark’s contemporaries seem to be willing to acknowledge her for this. Instead, most players in the league seem to feel rather negatively about any positive attention she has received recently. And so, any little benefit the WNBA has received that has been credited to her, seems to be working against her at the moment.
How charter flights created a rift between WNBA and Caitlin Clark
Keeping the spike in the WNBA viewership in mind, its governing body made the bold decision to introduce charter flights. They will now pay an annual fee of $25 million for the next two years to reduce the travel fatigue of its players. However, the WNBA faced several logistical concerns in executing its plan, delaying the process.
Soon after receiving the green light, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert reflected on the timing of the decision, simply stating that it was done to combat the league’s tough schedule.
“We wanted to take advantage of the fact that we knew these first couple of weeks, especially on the front end of this, were going to be challenging for our teams. That’s why we pulled the trigger when we did” [per Associated Press News].
This logic didn’t sit right with several influential figures around the league, especially as the Fever received early access to this benefit. So, they believed it was the WNBA’s way of playing favorites, giving Clark the benefits they felt she hadn’t earned yet.
Legend, Sheryl Swoopes, pointed out precisely this while narrating Brittney Griner’s story as a reference.
When the latter returned to the country in December 2022 after serving a 10-month-long sentence in Russia, the league didn’t take these steps to ensure her safety. It resulted in her being heckled by a social media influencer, Alex Stein, paving the way for a forgettable instance in WNBA’s history.
Pointing this out, Swoopes recently declared on Gil’s Arena,
“When all this was happening with Brittney in Russia, she had death threats, she had all that stuff coming at her, but she was still flying commercial going through the airport, it wasn’t that big a deal. Now the fans are filming Indiana walking through the airport, it’s like, ‘Oh no, we can’t have that so we need a charter’”.
“When all the stuff happened with Brittney [Griner] in Russia…She was still flying commercial going through the airport…So now because fans are at the airport filming Indiana walking through the airport, it’s like “Oh no, we can’t have that!”
Sheryl Swoopes on the new full… https://t.co/zFhy2eTP9E pic.twitter.com/M6AAaJu6pr
— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) May 13, 2024
Reflecting on the extremity of the situation, Swoopes’ words raised a rather valid argument. That said, it’s clear that the league only perceives it can now afford such an expense due to the viewership money that Caitlin Clark brings.
By no means is the WNBA blameless. After all, the Indiana Fever specifically receiving early access to the luxury of charter flights is most definitely suspicious. However, the fact that the athletes need to stop harassing the former Iowa star remains unchanged as well.
