Enes Kanter Freedom revealed on  Fox News’ The Big Weekend Show that Sophie Cunningham reached out after his ejection from the Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky game on August 23.

Kanter Freedom appeared on the show and said the two exchanged text messages after his ejection from Wintrust Arena in Chicago. According to Kanter Freedom, Cunningham asked him, “What happened?”

Kanter Freedom said he answered, “I just got up and opened my arms in the air and said, ‘I’m here to protect my friends.’” 

He has not revealed screenshots of their conversation, the rest of the conversation, or who texted first. He stated that their relationship is a friendship grounded in shared views on women’s sports. 

“She’s standing for the truth… I think she’s an idol now and an American hero,” Kanter said. “I’m just really happy that finally someone from the WNBA got up and said, ‘Enough is enough. We have to stand for American values.’” 

Cunningham previously said she wanted to “protect young girls” from competing against “biological men,” while rejecting claims that she hates transgender people. She has not publicly joined a broader campaign against the WNBA’s eligibility policies, unlike Kanter Freedom, who has.

Kanter Freedom has declared for the 2027 WNBA draft, demanded that the league revise its eligibility language, and challenged Commissioner Cathy Engelbert to a public summit.

Kanter Freedom said his support for Cunningham brought him courtside for the Fever-Sky matchup. After Chicago guard Natasha Cloud directed comments toward him, Kanter Freedom stood up and extended his arms before he began to move toward the court, before security escorted him from the arena. 

Kanter Freedom sued the Sky and other defendants over his ban and ejection. He stated that his speech was unlawfully punished.  Sky owner Michael Alter called the complaint “meritless and frivolous, stating that the ban was due to his actions, not his shirt.

As of now, Cunningham has not publicly acknowledged her friendship with Kanter Freedom.

Sophie Cunningham took a shot at current WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, saying the WNBA needs a “bold” commissioner who wants the best for the league and its players, not just themselves.

This suggests Cunningham is not a fan of Engelbert’s leadership at this important time for the league, as popularity is on the rise.

A wide range of topics were discussed regarding the WNBA’s leadership and Engelbert’s future, with one source saying the commissioner position “could be open at the end of the year,” according to USA Today.

“[Cathy Engelbert] has done a lot of good things, but with where our league is trying to go, I feel like you just want someone who also wants that. That’s just a hard position to be in, in her shoes, us as players ― we always want more, more, more because we see how good it can be,” Cunningham expressed. “You do have to have a person in power who is bold, who is confident, who wants the best for the players and not maybe for themselves all the time.”

Cunningham does not believe that a new WNBA commissioner solves the problem on its own either. She believes that the future of the WNBA is “up to Adam Silver.”

Cunningham has become one of the faces of the sport in the WNBA because she voices her opinions, even when they’re deemed controversial.

With the growing controversy of the WNBA and transgender athletes, Cunningham was one of the main stars to speak out and give their stance on the issue. She understands that even though basketball is the main focus, what she says will always be a story.

“When you do have so many eyes on you … that people can use your words for the positive. People can weaponize your words,” Cunningham said.

The Fever star will continue to be a headline as the WNBA season continues. The Fever currently sit fifth and have clinched a playoff berth.

A controversial in-game collision has become the latest flashpoint in an already tense WNBA season, after Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles appeared to kick Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark during Sunday’s matchup between the two teams.

It’s just the latest incident involving Clark that has sparked claims of bias against her in the league.

The sequence unfolded early in the second quarter as Miles beat Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell off the dribble, appearing to make contact with Mitchell’s face with her left hand before accelerating toward the rim. Clark rotated over to challenge the drive at the basket. As Miles went up for the layup, video showed her right leg extending outward into Clark, sending the Fever star tumbling to the floor. Officials did not call a foul on the play, a decision that quickly drew scrutiny once replays circulated online.

Reaction across social media was swift and heated.

One fan argued the contact was “clearly intentional,” criticizing the officiating crew and contending that fully extending a leg during a drive isn’t a natural basketball motion. Others went further, suggesting Miles may have been trying to injure Clark. Adding to the frustration for some Fever supporters, one observer noted that Clark was called for a foul on a separate, clean block shortly afterward, with broadcast announcers describing that particular play as clean contact — and that Fever head coach Stephanie White chose not to challenge the call.

A handful of reactions moved into more inflammatory, politically charged territory, alleging broader bias against Clark within the league, claims that remain unsubstantiated and reflect the increasingly polarized nature of online discourse around the star guard rather than any official finding.

The incident is far from an isolated controversy for a league that has faced a string of officiating disputes and public flashpoints in recent weeks. That same Sunday contest — a 108-100 Lynx win, Minnesota’s 10th consecutive victory, punctuated by a 28-point, 11-for-14 shooting performance from Miles — took place against the backdrop of a separate, ongoing controversy involving Fever guard Sophie Cunningham‘s public comments opposing transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports.

That dispute has already produced dueling rallies outside arenas, a five-game suspension for a Seattle Storm minority owner following a confrontation with fans, and public disagreements among coaches, including comments from White distancing herself from Cunningham’s stance.

Taken together, the Miles-Clark sequence and the surrounding noise underscore how officiating calls, player conduct, and off-court controversies have increasingly fed into one another this WNBA season, with each new incident amplified rapidly by an engaged and often divided fan base on social media.

Eleven Republican members of Congress, led by Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), sent a letter to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert on Wednesday demanding the league take “accountability” for what they described as repeated physical attacks on Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark.

Pfluger, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, wrote that Clark — “the face of your league” — has been “hip-checked, poked in the eye, and struck in the throat during games,” incidents he said “go far beyond routine physical play” while the WNBA “and its officiating members have too often failed to address” them, according to the letter posted on the committee’s website. The lawmakers said they were also concerned by reports that “many of these attacks against Caitlin Clark may be racially motivated.”

The letter warned that if the league doesn’t act, it could face scrutiny from the Department of Justice, the Department of Labor or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over potential violations of federal civil rights law. Lawmakers gave Engelbert until July 24 to answer questions about the league’s review process for on-court physical hostility, how players are held accountable for aggressive fouls, and what steps are being taken to curb online harassment of players, ESPN reported.

Co-signers included Reps. Erin Houchin, Marlin Stutzman and Victoria Spartz of Indiana, Diana Harshbarger, Tim Burchett and John Rose of Tennessee, Zach Nunn of Iowa, Mark Alford of Missouri, Sheri Biggs of South Carolina and Pete Sessions of Texas.

“If it were not for Caitlin Clark the WNBA would still be irrelevant and possibly even defunct,” Stutzman said in a statement accompanying the letter. Burchett said the league’s “failure to act on these concerning incidents shows an indifference, or active disregard, for civil rights protections.”

The Fever said in a statement Wednesday that they had no advance knowledge of the letter. “Our organization or Caitlin has had any interaction with anyone in this congressional group, and we were unaware of their letter,” the team said, that it has been “clear” in its dialogue with the league about player safety.

The letter follows a June 24 incident in which Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas struck Clark in the throat during a game in Indianapolis; the play was upgraded to a flagrant foul 2 after review, and Thomas was suspended one game. Thomas later said she and her family received online threats and harassment. Clark condemned such harassment on July 3, saying “none of that is OK.”

Caitlin Clark was at the center of another disputed officiating moment Sunday night, as a foul during a sequence with Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray was stopped and reviewed for a possible “hostile act” during Indiana Fever‘s 109-75 blowout of the defending champions at Michelob ULTRA Arena.

Accounts of the contact itself diverge. Gray caught Clark with an elbow to the midsection as she pivoted into her shot, sending Clark to the floor in pain. Others saw it differently. At 4:26 left in the second quarter, Clark was defending Gray as she drove to the basket. The two made contact a few times that was not extreme, and it was Clark — not Gray — who was whistled for the foul after Gray’s fadeaway attempt missed.

Clark dropped to the ground only after the whistle sounded, which drew accusations on social media that she had flopped to draw sympathy for the call.

Whatever triggered it, officials sent the play for review as a hostile act — a designation for the league’s most serious fouls — while Clark remained on the floor, holding her back, an area already sore from a lingering injury that has limited her for much of the season.

Aces coach Becky Hammon argued with officials over the decision to review it at all. The review ultimately upheld the original ruling: a common foul on Clark, not Gray, a result that left Clark visibly frustrated as coach Stephanie White walked her to the bench.

The play arrives amid heightened scrutiny of physical contact involving Clark. It follows an incident last month in which Phoenix‘s Alyssa Thomas was suspended one game without pay after a review found she had recklessly struck Clark in the throat with a closed fist, an act the league ruled outside normal basketball play. That incident drew political attention, with 11 Republican members of Congress sending a letter to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert last week pressing the league over what they called repeated physical incidents targeting Clark — pressure some reports suggest may now be influencing how closely officials review every hard play involving her.

On the court, Indiana dominated regardless. Kelsey Mitchell scored 27 points, extending her streak of 25-plus-point games to six straight, a mark matched by only four other players in league history: A’ja Wilson, Tina Charles, Arike Ogunbowale and Maya Moore. Aliyah Boston added 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Sophie Cunningham tied her season high with six three-pointers en route to 20 points.

Clark, still under a minute restriction as she manages her back injury, finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists on 5-of-11 shooting in 24 minutes. Wilson led Las Vegas with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Gray added 15, but the loss dropped the Aces into a second-place tie with Golden State, a half-game behind league-leading Minnesota.

Caitlin Clark was punched in the throat during a heated Indiana Fever–Phoenix Mercury matchup Wednesday night.

Another physical game involving Clark has generated widespread attention across the WNBA after the Fever star took a blow to the throat during Wednesday night’s game against the Phoenix Mercury.

The incident occurred during a loose-ball scramble in the second quarter. Clark fell to the floor while battling for possession. Television replays appeared to show Mercury veteran Alyssa Thomas making contact with Clark’s throat during the sequence. No foul was called on the play, immediately drawing criticism from fans, analysts and the Indiana coaching staff. Videos of the play quickly spread across social media, with many fans arguing Clark had been struck in the neck.

On Thursday, the WNBA suspended Thomas for one game.

Clark, one of the most popular players in the WNBA, was at the center of debate, with some seeing the play as incidental contact and others calling it excessive. The incident dominated conversation for the remainder of the game and into the hours after the final buzzer.

Fever coach Stephanie White did not hide her frustration after the game. She criticized the officials, calling their performance “egregious and utterly disrespectful.”

The controversy came just two days after a heated meeting between the same two teams. That earlier matchup featured multiple technical fouls, confrontations between players and growing attention throughout the contest.

​Clark remained in the game after the throat contact but later exited in the third quarter with a back injury and did not return. The Fever said the back issue was caused by the throat incident. Players and coaches pointed to several moments throughout the night as evidence that Clark was repeatedly put in dangerous situations.



​

Indiana Fever star point guard Caitlin Clark announced on social media that she will miss the remainder of the 2025 WNBA season.

Clark, 23, has been nursing a groin injury since mid-July. The 2024 No. 1 pick suffered the injury in the final moments of the Fever’s win against the Connecticut Sun, missing the WNBA All-Star Game and appearing in just 13 regular season games.

“I spent hours in the gym every day with the singular goal of getting back out there, disappointed isn’t a big enough word to describe how I am feeling,” Clark said on Thursday. “I want to thank everyone who had my back through all the uncertainty. This has been incredibly frustrating, but even in the bad, there is good.”

The Fever sit third in the Eastern conference with a 21-20 record with three games remaining. Clark was averaging 16.5 points and 8.8 assists per game before her injury in July.

Despite the setback, the two-time All-Star showed respect to the fans and hopes the Fever can make a run in the upcoming playoffs.

“The way the fans continued to show up for me, and for the Fever, brought me so much joy and important perspective,” she wrote. “I am so proud of how this team has only gotten stronger through the adversity this year. Now it’s time to close out the season and claim our spot in the Playoffs.”

The Fever also put out a press release regarding the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year’s status. The statement said Clark, in addition to the groin injury, suffered a bone bruise while recovering.

“Caitlin has worked so hard throughout this time, doing everything possible to recover and return to the court but, ultimately, time is not on our side,” Fever COO and general manager Amber Cox said in the statement. “While we will continue working with Caitlin and provide her with every resource we have available, there is not enough time left in our season for her to safely return, and her long-term health and well-being remains our top priority.”

The Fever will host the Chicago Sky on Friday before visiting the Washington Mystics on Sunday. The final regular season game will be hosted on Tuesday against the league-leaders Minnesota Lynx.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark sent a classy message to Red Panda, the stage name for acrobat Rong Niu, following the high-wire act’s scary fall during halftime of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup championship game.

Niu fell on her left wrist after hitting the floor with her unicycle early during her legendary routine at Target Center in Minneapolis. She was helped off the court with assistance from a wheelchair after a tumble from her seven-foot unicycle. Employees witnessed Niu being taken away in an ambulance, according to The Athletic.

“Red Panda, we love you,” Clark said during Sydney Colson’s Instagram Live video. “Red Panda, if you’re watching, we love you.”

The 55-year-old ‘Red Panda’ has performed at professional and college sporting events since 1993.

The Fever beat the Minnesota Lynx, 74-59, to take the Cup title. The Fever coach, Stephanie White, said after the game that her team was unaware of the halftime injury to Red Panda prior to the postseason celebration.

That’s when word spread of the unfortunate incident at midcourt. Clark did not play in the game due to a groin injury. Clark, who has not played since June 24, had participated in practice in the lead-up to the game, but White told reporters this week that Indiana was being cautious with her recovery.

“Making sure we don’t have any setbacks, we got to be smart about this,” White said.

Clark spoke to reporters after Sunday’s practice and said at the time, she was “day-by-day” with the groin situation.

“Doing everything I can to put myself in a position to play the next game every single time,” Clark said. “That’s always my goal is to be available for the next game. Doing everything I can with the medical staff to be able to get my body right to be able to do that. But yeah, I can feel good and just going day-by-day.”

Former Phoenix Suns director of safety, security and risk management Gene Traylor filed a lawsuit against the organization last week alleging racial discrimination, unlawful retaliation and security problems. But one part of the lawsuit stood out: a story about an interaction Traylor had with Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein.

Traylor allegedly told Bartelstein that vice president of security and risk management Cornelius Craig had been spreading damaging information about the organization. “When Bartelstein asked Plaintiff to reveal what Craig was saying,” reads the lawsuit, “Plaintiff explained that Craig had been telling others, ‘Josh Bartelstein is f–-ing Sophie Cunningham.’”

Cunningham, 28, spent the first six years of her WNBA career with the Phoenix Mercury, which Bartelstein also owns. She was traded this year to the Indiana Fever.

She and Bartelstein, who is married, both denied the allegations vehemently.

“The recent reports concerning Josh Bartelstein and Sophie Cunningham are entirely false and morally reprehensible,” reads the Suns’ statement. “Let’s absolutely be clear about the origins of these claims.”

The team, which has been sued four times in the past seven months by former employees, accused attorney Sheree Wright of attempting to extort them. “She continues to insert salacious lies and fabrications into her complaints—knowing that the media may report them as fact, as happened yesterday [with the Cunningham story]—she hopes to coerce the Phoenix Suns into settling. Sheree Wright will not extort our organization and never see a single dollar.”

Cunningham, in turn, issued a much more personal statement calling the allegations “untrue and extremely hurtful.”

“I am here to compete, play basketball at the highest level and win for my team and my fans, while inspiring other women that they can do or be anything they ever dream of becoming… I will not let untrue gossip take my focus away from what is most important to me, which is basketball, my supportive teams and my fans.”

Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark is just a few games into her second season in the WNBA. She also now holds the league record for most career games with 25 points and 10 assists.

Clark dropped 27 points and 11 assists on the Atlanta Dream last week as the Fever lost 90-91. That was her sixth career game with at least 25 points and 10 assists, out of 42 total games played. She passed New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu, who is playing her sixth season in the WNBA, for the record.

Clark makes it look easy. But in the time between her first 25/10 game and her sixth, only one other WNBA player logged even one: Odyssey Sims, who logged 26 points and 10 assists for the Los Angeles Sparks against the Dallas Wings last season.

It’s not the first record Clark has broken, and it won’t be the last. She also set a record with 42 consecutive games with a three-pointer made to begin her career, which finally ended as the Fever played the Dream a second time. Clark went 0 for 5 from three-point range, ending with 11 points.

But, as Clark has made clear, she’s focusing on improving as a player and winning, not on records. And the Fever were able to pull through on the back of a huge 26-point game from veteran Natasha Howard, bringing them up to 2-1 on the season.

With 43 games into her career, you can be fairly sure that watching Clark, she’ll set many records that may never be broken. It only feels like a matter of time.

The WNBA said that they are investigating allegations of “hateful fan comments” directed toward Chicago Sky star Angel Reese during Saturday’s game between the Sky and Indiana Fever.

In the third quarter, an incident involving Reese and Caitlin Clark, in which Clark slapped the ball out of Reese’s hands in the post, sparked a feud between the two teams. Fever forward Aliyah Boston and Reese were assessed technical fouls, while Clark was assessed a flagrant one foul.

“The WNBA strongly condemns racism, hate, and discrimination in all forms – they have no place in our league or in society,” the league said in a statement.

The Indiana Fever defeated the Chicago Sky 93-58. Throughout the course of the game, Reese was loudly booed by fans. During foul shots, the volume greatly increased.

Reese didn’t have much to say about the incident.

“Basketball play. The refs got it right, move on,” Reese said.

The Women’s National Basketball Players Association said it was “aware of reports of hateful comments” and supports the league’s decision to investigate.

The Fever is aware of the league’s investigation and they are cooperating.

Clark finished the game with a triple-double, the third of her WNBA career. She finished with 20 points, ten rebounds and ten assists.

Caitlin Clark, the 23-year-old phenom coming out of the University of Iowa, has brought the hype with her to her first season in the WNBA.

Yes, she’s averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds for the Indiana Fever, winning rookie of the year cleanly and finishing fourth in MVP voting. But bigger than that is her brand – the brand that, according to a study done by an economist at Indiana University Columbus, has had $36 million of economic impact on the city of Indianapolis and drove nearly 27% of the league’s total revenue.

WNBA contracts, which are collectively bargained, range from $64,154 to $241,984. Clark’s salary for the 2025 season? Likely just over $78,000.

“Will Caitlin Clark ever be paid by the WNBA what she’s really worth to that league? I don’t think that’s possible,” her agent, Erin Kane, told ESPN.

“She’s part of a larger player body. They all need to be paid more. She should be recognized for what she has done and what she’s brought to the league from an economic standpoint. It’s as simple as that.”

With Clark’s rise to stardom and other ventures such as the three-on-three women’s basketball league Unrivaled, though, salaries should be on the rise. Unrivaled, which features players like Kelsey Plum, Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, pays its players an average salary of $200,000 – a number distinctly higher than the average WNBA salary, and one it will be looking to replicate with the help of its bump in popularity.

One of the most notable consequences of the WNBA revival has been its new media deal. Signed last year, the deal extends 11 years for about $200 million a year. That’s a $140 million jump from its current deal. And that’s not even to mention the expansion teams already named – the Toronto Tempo and Golden State Valkyries – with announcements of Portland and Cleveland teams on the way.

“The most important thing,” Kane said, “Always has been getting WNBA players paid for what they do on the court.”

Kane seems to be getting her wish. But change is slow, and it’s unlikely that Caitlin Clark or her contemporaries will ever reap the full fruits of their labor during their tenures in the league.

Caitlin Clark has taken the WNBA by storm since the rookie’s snub from the U.S.A. women’s basketball team. The Fever have won their last five and are 8-2 in their last ten, rocketing up the standings and clinching their first playoff appearance since 2016.

Clark became the first rookie in WNBA history to record 12 double-doubles in a season on Sunday, dropping 28 points to go along with 12 assists to increase her per-game average to 18.7 PPG and 8.4 APG. She racked up a triple-double Wednesday night for an encore, the second of her career, and became the first player in WNBA history to hit 100 threes, accomplishing the feat in just her 34th game.

Earlier Wednesday, the WNBA announced that Clark won both Rookie and Player of the Month in August.

After the game, Clark stayed humble like usual, even as she exceeded the hype with which she entered the league.

“These are games you really need to win at home. The more we can win, the better we can position ourselves for the playoffs. These fans spend a lot of money to come here and watch us and have fun with us. So, you want to kind of give them a show every time we’re in here.”

Indiana Fever head coach Christie Sides echoed a similar sentiment about her budding star.

“Every game she gets a little better, every game she gets a little bit [more] understanding of the speed and the quickness. I love the conversations with her about the game. She’s playing really well … she had some amazing assists tonight.”

Six games remain in the Indiana Fever’s regular season before their attention shifts to the playoffs. Up next, a battle with the 24-9 Minnesota Lynx at home.

After her incredible August, oddsmakers set Clark’s odds to win Rookie of the Year at -5000, and many expect it will be unanimous.

Indiana Fever phenom Caitlin Clark broke the WNBA record for rookie three-pointers made Wednesday night, sinking her 86th basket from beyond the arc in an upset 84-80 win over the Connecticut Sun.

At this point in Clark’s rookie season, it is now abundantly clear that she is developing into a superstar in the sport. Less than six months removed from leading Iowa to the NCAA national championship game in college, she is already leading a rebuilding Fever team to massive victories over more established foes like Connecticut.

The Sun, who currently hold a 22-8 record, figure as a championship contender in the upcoming postseason. Connecticut was one of the teams that flummoxed Clark and the Fever in an 0-5 start to the season. In fact, the Sun hadn’t lost to the Fever since 2021. But in a gritty back-forth contest, the young star and her teammates proved that they have gradually found their way.

Clark finished her record-setting night against the Sun with 19 points, five assists and five rebounds. She has now scored 17 or more points in 10 straight games, correlating directly to an improved stretch for the Fever as a unit. Since WNBA action resumed earlier this month, the team has won four of five games.

“The maturity and the toughness that my players showed tonight was just incredible,” Fever coach Christie Sides said after the win Wednesday night. “We’re watching them grow up, from where we started to where we are now. Connecticut is an incredible team. I’m so proud of these players.”

With a 15-16 record through 31 games, Indiana isn’t going to win the WNBA Championship any time soon, though Clark’s play alongside second-year star Aliyah Boston is putting the team ahead of schedule. From an individual standpoint, however, Clark’s statistics at this point in the 2024 season befit a future league leader.

In addition to earning the most three-pointers by a rookie in WNBA history, she also leads the entire league in assists with 252. Combining these two stats with her prolific scoring, she is the first player to have more than 500 points, 250 assists and 75 three-pointers in their rookie year. There are still nine games remaining in the regular season.

Caitlin Clark set a WNBA record with 19 assists in a game against the Dallas Wings Wednesday night, breaking the previous record of 18 set by Courtney Vandersloot in 2020. Clark also scored 23 points in the contest, though the Fever still came up short in a 101-93 loss.

“I just try to set my teammates up for success,” Clark said after her record-breaking game, according to ESPN. “I think at times I can almost overpass … especially with AB (Aliyah Boston), I’m just looking to set her up so much. My eyes are just always on our post players.”

After taking some time to adjust early in the season, Clark has quickly become one of the WNBA’s brightest young stars in her rookie year. Through 26 starts, she is scoring 17.1 points per game with 8.2 assists, placing her among the best point guards in the league.

Clark and Boston, a second-year forward, continue to drive production for the Fever, as the pair combined for 62 points in the defeat Wednesday night. Indiana’s supporting cast beyond its top pair does not match up to the best in the league, but the team began the season 0-5 and have gone 11-10 since then.

As an individual player, Clark is the overwhelming favorite to win Rookie of the Year, one year after Boston achieved the same feat in her debut season with the Fever. Clark’s only challenger for the award is longtime LSU rival Angel Reese, who earned 15 straight double-doubles as a member of the Chicago Sky.

The pair’s on-court rivalry, carried over from back-to-back NCAA Tournament games between Iowa and LSU, hasn’t missed a beat in the WNBA. A game between the Sky and Fever last month drew 2.3 million viewers, making it the most watched WNBA game in 23 years.

“It’s moreso a movement than a moment,” Clark said of the league’s popularity in a team statement Wednesday.

“That’s just not a basketball play,” Caitlin Clark said of the cheap shot she took from Chicago Sky’s Chennedy Carter during the third quarter of their game Saturday.

After the Sky made a basket, Carter hip-checked Clark as she crumpled to the floor. The referees determined the act to be a common foul in the game, but the WNBA upgraded the contact to a flagrant foul. To fuel the fire, during a T.V. timeout, fellow rookie and former college rival Angel Reese looked delighted by the contact and hugged Carter as she walked to the bench. Clark may have lost the battle but won the war, as the Fever emerged victorious 71-70.

The postgame press conference led to more controversy, with Carter ignoring to answer questions on the play and Reese refusing to talk to the media altogether, resulting in a $1,000 fine. When Clark spoke to the press, she downplayed the drama, saying, ‘”I’ve gotta play through it; that’s what basketball is about at this level.”

Carter’s foul play was the crescendo of a difficult first few weeks in the WNBA for Clark. The #1 pick and Iowa star has received a cold welcome from other teams with cheap shots and physicality coming her way on a nightly basis. Some fans argue that the other players are jealous of Clark for her fame and are committing these hostile acts out of jealousy. Others say that the professionals are more physical than college and that the NCAA all-time leading scorer needs to adjust to the differing play styles.

While fan support and viewership for the WNBA are at an all-time high, Clark’s play has been underwhelming since the start of the season. She has shot 29% from three and averaged only 15.6 points per game as the Fever continues to struggle with a 2-9 record in 11 games.

After the highest-scoring and most prolific college basketball career in history, Caitlin Clark broke another record by signing a $28 million Nike deal that includes a custom shoe and spans over eight years.

The former Iowa Hawkeye was drafted as the number one overall pick in the WNBA’s Indiana Fever draft and has already distinguished herself from those with the best endorsements in the league.

Clark, represented by Excel Sports Management, had an initial name, image and likeness deal that expired at the end of the 2023-24 college season. The new agreement would be the richest-ever sponsorship for a women’s basketball player.

Under Armour and Adidas also reportedly communicated about contracts with Clark and her agents in February. Still, communications have died down since the Nike deal has been put on the table.

Clark reportedly received over $16 million in offers over four years from Under Armour and over $6 million in offers from Adidas, including a signature shoe.

Despite the huge sum, some critics say the endorsement money is too small given the staggering numbers male athletes get—Michael Jordan, for example, earned $60 million per year in prime from Nike alone. 

Clark’s agents worked on the Nike deal before she even declared the WNBA draft instead of returning to Iowa for her eligible fifth year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. She will earn a $76,000 salary in her first season as a rookie.

Her recent appearance on Saturday Night Live exposed Clark to a broader audience and demonstrated her polished performances in media settings, which has been said to be another reason for the Nike deal.

Of the Fever’s 40 games this year, 36 will be nationally televised, and ticket sales have already skyrocketed.

From her deep three-pointers to her flashy dribbling skills, Clark’s performances and record-breaking have been the main drive for the uptick in interest in women’s basketball. A WNBA record 2.45 million watched the WNBA draft, and a women’s basketball record 18.9 million watched Iowa’s loss to South Carolina in the NCAA tournament final.

After a senior season that attracted the nation, Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark was taken first overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever. Her jump to the professional level comes after falling to South Carolina in the Hawkeye’s second straight national championship game and setting the all-time NCAA scoring record with 3,951 points.

“I think the biggest thing is, I vividly remember coach [Lisa] Bluder during my home visit in my recruiting. … Sometime during my junior year, I think the biggest thing is that we talked about this moment,” Clark said after being selected. “We dreamed of this moment, but she also believed I would be here, and she coached me really hard to get to this moment.”

Clark has set the college basketball world on fire over the past two years with her deep three-point shooting and infectious energy both on and off the court. Now, she goes pro and joins a Fever team that had a 13-27 record last year and has yet to have a winning season since 2016. With Clark’s arrival, Indiana will now have 36 of its 40 games on national television or streaming platforms.

“That’s definitely our goal is to get back to championship habits,” Clark said. “I’m very lucky to be going there to an organization that really loves women’s basketball. You see it today: I think they had 17,000 tickets claimed to just watch the Draft. I think that shows the excitement in Indianapolis.”

Clark arrives at the Fever to join forces with last year’s first overall pick, Aliyah Boston, who earned the honor of 2023 Rookie of the Year. With Clark and Boston playing together for the first time since joining Team USA’s U-19 national team, the young duo will undoubtedly make for exciting games and perhaps more wins.

“Like I said, as a point guard, my biggest job is, I’m just feeding Aliyah the ball every single day,” Clark said. “That’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to be in there and be like, go make a layup. She’s going to make my life easy.”

Even with Clark yet to play a game, ticket prices have risen dramatically for entrance into a Fever game in 2024. Last year, ticket prices averaged around $45-$50, but now prices are closer to the $150-$250 starting range. A single-seat ticket for Indiana’s first game of the season against the Minnesota Lynx is selling for at least $230, while court-side tickets are going for more than $1,400.

It isn’t just ticket prices that are rising, but also the popularity and viewership of the WNBA as a whole. Monday night’s Draft, which saw Clark selected first, was the most-viewed WNBA telecast since 2000, with an average of 2.45 million viewers. It had more than four times the number of viewers from last year’s Draft and was viewed by more people than the most-watched WNBA game ever.

Clark was the biggest name in the Draft, and the record-breaking viewership numbers could also be due to the large number of high-level women’s college basketball stars who are now moving to the professional ranks. Behind Clark, Stanford’s Cameron Brink was selected second overall by the Los Angeles Sparks, South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso was picked third by the Chicago Sky and LSU’s Angel Reese went seventh overall, also landing in Chicago.

Clark was a human highlight film in her four years at Iowa, but as she moves to the WNBA, many question whether she can continue giving those performances. Her first game is against the Lynx on July 14, and millions of viewers will undoubtedly tune in to watch.

Iowa women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark will enter the WNBA Draft this summer. The Hawkeyes phenom will soon appear in the NCAA Tournament and said that her final college basketball season is “far from over.”

“It is impossible to fully express my gratitude to everyone who has supported me during my time at Iowa — my teammates, who made the last four years the best; my coaches, trainers, and staff who always let me be me; Hawkeye fans who filled Carver every night; and everyone who came out to support us across the country, especially young kids,” Clark said in a statement on social media.

In three seasons at Iowa, Clark has captured the imagination of countless basketball fans and has become the leader of a movement to elevate women’s basketball to mainstream status. With a handful of regular season games remaining, she in on pace to pass Pete Maravich to become the highest scorer in NCAA history.

Clark’s announcement will be sure to make this year’s WNBA Draft in April a national event. The first overall pick, which currently belongs to the Indiana Fever, is now the most valuable draft position in the history of the league.

Within minutes of Clark’s announcement, Indiana Fever made a flurry of posts on X, reminding fans that the team had the #1 pick and advertising season tickets for the 2023-24 season. The team’s conspicuous activity all but confirms that Clark will be the surefire top pick.

Clark’s future may be secure, but Iowa’s road to a potential championship this season isn’t easy by any measure. The Hawkeyes are ranked sixth overall, behind the likes of powerhouses South Carolina, currently 27-0, and Ohio State, who leads Iowa in the Big 10 standings with a 15-1 conference record. Right behind Iowa in the rankings, teams like USC, UConn and LSU, the team that eliminated Iowa last season, are also likely to make some noise in March.