And the recent treatment of WNBA star Caitlin Clark is all the proof you need as evidence this statement is true.
Like so many Americans, I love sports and seeing winners practicing their God-given gifts. There is a phenom (phenomenal gifted or intelligent person of an age) that comes along every once in a while that leave us with our jaws on our chests. That applies to both men and women in sports.
I live less than 15 miles from the home field of “The Rockford Peaches” who played from 1943 to 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. In the league’s 9 years of existence, the Peaches came in first in 4 of those years which spawned the Hollywood movie “A League of Their Own”.
Some past phenomenal men of the National Basketball Association (NBA) that instantly come to mind in my lifetime are Michael Jordan, Larry Byrd, and Magic Johnson.
With the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), I actually never knew it existed before Caitlin Clark was drafted by the Indianapolis Fever of the WNBA.
One would think the top brass of the WNBA would be aware of what Clark has done for their sport and show some appreciation and responsibility for her welfare. Instead she has become a punching bag by players of opposing teams and the victim of both horrendous and/or missing calls by the referees officiating her games!
One would think those in charge would recognize Clark for what she is, “The goose that laid the Golden Egg!”
Sadly, that has not been the case. The American public understands women can be catty, immature, or just plain stupid at times. What they do not understand is how a parallel sport of men in the NBA of women of the WNBA, who are 100% college graduates, can have grown women acting like young school girls!
“Caitlin Clark MERCILESSLY BEATEN AGAIN, WNBA Is Cringe And WANTS Clark To Get hit For Views” – Timcast
There is an old expression that goes, “A rising tide raises all boats.” While nobody knows the exact origin of this expression, President John F. Kennedy is credited with making it popular during his presidency. It is a common idiom that holds when an economy improves overall, all participants in that economy, regardless of their individual circumstances, will experience positive effects.
So, to explain this for all the slower women who play in the WNBA, Caitlin Clark brought an audience and money to your sport you would not have seen otherwise. As sports professionals, you should be smart enough to recognize that even if Caitlin Clark does not exactly play on your WNBA team, she is still playing for you as a member of the WNBA!
What motivated me to write this article when I am not at all a sportswriter was a recent occurrence topped off by an injustice against Caitlin Clark.
- Caitlin Clark gets poked in the eye by Connecticut Sun guard Jacy Sheldon (4).
- Caitlin Clark shoves Sheldon away from her and draws a foul upgraded to a Flagrant 2 foul after the game.
- Caitlin Clark goes down after a shove from Sun point guard Marina Mabrey (3).
Most people agree both Sheldon and Mabrey should have been immediately ejected for their conduct against Clark.
Clark was not wrong. I don’t even think she overreacted considering all of the dirty plays that she was put through without calls from the refs the whole night and the fact she got intentionally poked in the eye just last fall!
“Caitlin Clark GETS BLACK EYE IN TARGETED EYE POKE By Dijonai “Mustard” Carrington. Unacceptable.” – The Ben Daniel Podcast
DiJonai Victoria Carrington is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Wings who poked Clark in the eye last fall in a game with the Fever.
In the game between the Suns and the Fever, if you look at where Sheldon’s hand is in the Sun-Fever game, and where the ball is, she was not making a play on the ball at all. It was an intentional strike to the eye. Look where Sheldon’s index finger is in the video in Caitlin’s eye, and then look at the grin on Sheldon’s face afterward.
Jacy Sheldon, you owe Caitlin Clark an apology!
The Indiana Fever reached the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final with an 88-71 win over the Connecticut Sun Tuesday.
CONCLUSION:
The conduct of the WNBA by the players, referees, and front office is beyond comprehension. They look like a collection of idiots and I will offer two facts to drive home my observation and opinion:
1. Caitlin Clark was recently injured and was out for 2 weeks after she sustained a left quadriceps strain that resulted in Clark missing just 4 games and yet…
“WNBA Tickets Collapse 70% and Ratings Drop 50% Without Caitlin Clark.” – Nate the Lawyer
2. So Caitlin Clark’s foul for shoving Jacy Sheldon away from her was recently upgraded to a Flagrant 2 foul which would normally require an ejection during the game. But now that game is over and she was not ejected. Does that mean she must serve her upgraded foul with a suspension now?
It almost seems that the WNBA is rigged and the Fever is not meant to be the winning team, even if they really are the winning team!
I will conclude this by mentioning an old analogy from my personal life.
My college roommate graduated to be drafted by the National Football League (NFL) as a quarterback. Even though the NFL players deliver some nasty hits on one another, they do not seek to intentionally injure one another or end careers. They are a brotherhood of true professionals. Matter of fact, they all belong to the same union, the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). They are rivals on the field but also work associates as well.
I love watching the moves of Caitlin Clark. I love watching her sink three pointers with nothing but net.
But still, after this latest eye poke, if she were my granddaughter, I would suggest she get on googles to protect her eyes. Loss of an eye could prove to be career ending for her. Also, I would payroll an Indianapolis uniformed police officer to sit on the bench besides her just waiting to charge the next player who assaults her!
© 2025 by Mark S. Schwendau
