Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark‘s hardships in her debut season in the WNBA are well-documented. Despite the unprecedented spike in attention since her entry into the league, many argue that the rookie receives undue credit. This narrative was only further reinforced after a WNBA awards voter kickstarted a conversation about the Rookie of The Year award and did not mention Clark’s name once.
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The opinions of those who have a vote towards WNBA awards matter quite a bit. After all, they decide who deserves to be honored with the prestigious awards of the league. Of course, these personnel also receive this power with the faith that, not only will they be active viewers of the league, but they will also be unbiased in their decision-making. Unfortunately, one of these conditions is not quite being fulfilled.
One of the fans in attendance in a live 50-minute-long discussion on X pointed out that during the debate on who should win Rookie of the Year, the host did not discuss Caitlin Clark’s candidacy for the coveted honor.
A WNBA media voter hosted an official space on the @WNBA Twitter where Rookie of the year and All Star voting were discussed at length
Caitlin Clark was not mentioned once the entire 50 minutes. Not a good look for the #WNBA pic.twitter.com/CiQltdAb6J
— Clark Report (@CClarkReport) July 1, 2024
Caitlin Clark’s numbers this season have been stellar for a rookie. After 20 games, she is averaging 16.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 6.9 assists. While her efficiency has been far from excellent in this stretch – 39.4% from the field, and 34.6% from three – it has risen steadily as the season has progressed.
Her numbers are better than Angel Reese, her rival in the race for the award. The Chicago Sky center is averaging 13.3 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists, on 39.6% shooting. Yet, the Chicago Sky rookie was touted as the frontrunner for the award and there was no mention of Clark during the discussion.
Those in Caitlin Clark’s corners and several neutrals voiced their frustration about the biased debate. One fan even took a direct quote from the discussion, where a speaker seemed to throw serious shade at Caitlin Clark. She claimed that rebounding, a stat where Reese beats the Fever star, is a tougher task and requires far more skill than scoring or assisting.
“everything, if you really pay attention like… she earns. It’s not like she does a step back and can let it go, no shade to people who do that (…) she’s going to find a way to get to those boards.” literally shading caitlin’s play-style and implying rebounding is harder than…
— vi ✰ (@ccloveoml) July 1, 2024
Another fan claimed that if voters show inherent bias against Clark, no basketball fan would take the WNBA seriously again.
If this isn’t fixed, then they can’t expect the #WNBA to ever be taken seriously
— Winners Only Club (@WOCmain) July 2, 2024
Following a similar theme, a different supporter outlined Clark’s incredible impact in June and how it helped her team register a 7-4 record.
Caitlin Clark led her team to a record of 7-4 in the month of June.
She is playing winning basketball right now and she will let her play do the talking. https://t.co/mu9J6dAwQU
— just1n (@just1nvest) July 2, 2024
Many in the discussion claimed that Angel Reese is the undisputed rookie of the year, and no other first-year player has come close to her, which is evidently false.
With all this on the table, it has only become harder and harder to deny that there is an agenda against Clark. Yet, the former Iowa Hawkeyes star has done nothing more than keep her head down and let her performances do the talking.
Indeed, the media’s behavior towards the Fever star needs to change. After all, if it cannot recognize that she deserves to be in the top 2 of this race, then the WNBA may indeed lose the respect of the basketball community.
