The Indiana Fever and Dallas Wings will square off this Friday night in what should be a potential playoff preview. Unfortunately, there's a good portion of the WNBA community preoccupied with ION's pregame graphic.
For some bizarre reason, ION left Caitlin Clark off its graphic for the Fever-Wings game. Her spot was filled by Lexie Hull, who is averaging 5.5 points per game this season. As for the Wings, their stars got proper treatment from the TV network. Both Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale were featured on the graphic.
As you'd imagine, ION received plenty of complaints about snubbing Clark.
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images.
"The WNBA refusing to promote Caitlin Clark is impossible to explain. Imagine the NBA not using Jordan, Kobe or LeBron when promoting their teams," OutKick founder Clay Travis said.
"They out here trolling now?" Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy replied.
"There has never been, nor will there ever be, a pettier organization than the WNBA. It is redefining pettiness for a new generation," OutKick writer Ian Miller wrote.
"Promoting the Fever vs Wings with Lexi Hull & Raven Johnson, instead of Caitlin Clark & Kelsey Mitchell, is purely for engagement," another person declared.
This has become a recurring theme for the WNBA.
Earlier this year, the WNBA left Clark off its 30th anniversary poster. That decision sparked a ton of backlash from the sports world.
“The WNBA just keeps driving into a wall at full speed with Caitlin Clark. They have a commemorative poster for 30 years of the WNBA; Caitlin Clark isn’t on it. This isn’t an ode to the veterans who started the league – Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese are on it. When she broke into the league, you [the WNBA] moved her road games to accommodate the fans. She made such an impact that you transitioned to private jets. And yet Caitlin isn’t on the 30-year poster,” Fox Sports radio host Colin Cowherd said. “Her games got double the ratings of A’ja Wilson, the best player in the league. This is a paranoid, weird, insular league.”
At this point in her career, the WNBA should know that Clark is Indiana's most marketable player. And yet, TV networks like ION continue to snub her from their pregame content.
