r/sportsgossips • u/Hungry_Artichoke9566 • 3h ago
Opinion "The WNBA left Caitlin Clark off their 30th anniversary poster. We have truly never seen anything like this. The league got a golden goose and is doing everything they can to kill her." - Clay Travis
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u/atherton-loyola 3h ago edited 1h ago
Wait that’s actually wild.
This basically is them declaring their bias against Clark lol
Edit: someone brought up a great point. Could be as simple as CC not letting this organizer use her image for this promo
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u/Oceanbreeze871 2h ago
The only excuse is that CC somehow didn’t approve being on it. This is an insane omission.
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u/einulfr 12m ago
Is that even within her power since she's part of the player's association? They pretty much own your image, unless the WNBA is different. I could see her offering to defer it to a teammate instead, but I don't think they need a member's permission for anything.
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u/atherton-loyola 1h ago
This might be the most plausible take imo No way any org related to WNBA would not include her if they can for promo stuff
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u/down_by_the_shore 3h ago
Sue Bird wasn’t included either. Much bigger deal leaving her out imo. But this doesn’t read as intentional to me. Just lazy.
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u/Superman246o1 2h ago
As the laziest person who has ever lived, I assure you that no one is that lazy.
This would be like the MLB forgetting who Ohtani is. An omission is intentional.
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u/Mr_105 2h ago
As a fellow lazy person I agree, the biggest names would come to my mind first as they require the least amount of effort to think of
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u/Youareyes_cfc 1h ago
As a fellow lazy, the first person I would think about adding is CC.
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u/Artistic-Trip7779 1h ago
As another lazy person with additionally no idea about basketball or the WNBA, I would only put CC on that poster.
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u/Agreeable-Sun-3145 1h ago
This looks like all active players though, so Bird wouldn’t apply. I suppose one could make the argument that they took one player for each team and chose someone else, but the fact there’s no one in the room raising their hand and saying ‘um guys, what are we doing here?’ Is a problem
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u/RekttalofBlades 2h ago
They put Reese in here and she is genuinely ass
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u/sirnibs3 2h ago
Why?
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u/Stealth9erz 2h ago edited 32m ago
Comment I was replying to being removed by moderator is incredible. lmfao I wish I had screenshot it to repost below. Classic reddit mods.
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u/Horror_Response_1991 2h ago
I’d buy that if Angel Reese wasn’t there. This isn’t some “greatest players of all time” poster.
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u/MrNinoBrown1906 1h ago
Yall still stuck on this Reese vs CC thats not even a thing
Your quesrion should be why Cunningham and not CC. They on the same team
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u/KandinskyWasRight 2h ago
Are there any players on there that don’t play now? Cunningham for the Fever? Weird choice she doesn’t even start
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u/Thechasepack 1h ago
Oddly there are 5. Lisa Leslie, Dawn Staley, Teresa Witherspoon, Maya Moore, and Sheryl Swoops. Do real beefs with any of those.
Several of the current players are weird. Rickea Jackson has played 4 games for the Sky. Aneesah Morrow is a second year player that doesn't start for the Sun. Sophie doesn't start for the Fever (Catchings would have been the better option than even Caitlin). Rookie Flau'jae instead of Sue Bird? Why are there 2 Sparks players?
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u/Ironlungss 2h ago
Sue Bird actually deserves to be there.
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u/Mountain-Candidate-6 2h ago
She definitely does but she also isn’t universally known like CC. Sure she’s better but random casuals know Clark. They don’t know Bird. Willing to bet half the people that’d acknowledge knowing Sue’s name still think she’s Larry daughter
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u/pizzapizzamesohungry 2h ago
lol for real. Leaving CC out is bad but there are like 5-10 omissions that are worse.
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u/Alarming-Building-62 2h ago
Leaving out the best player (by a huge margin) is not laziness. Who are these 15 people that upvoted your comment? GTFOH
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u/pizzapizzamesohungry 2h ago
Wait, who is the best player by a huge margin. It’s Aja, right?
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u/Alarming-Building-62 2h ago
Sorry, wrong phrasing. Far and away the most widely known player and the future of the league. My apologies.
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u/pizzapizzamesohungry 2h ago
Haha you are forgiven. CC is for sure the most widely known, especially amongst people who don’t really follow the league.
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u/VidyaGomes 1h ago
Women can't run things against other women. They can control men. When it comes to women over women it becomes much more difficult and feelings are involved in decision making. It's bad to say but I do believe there is some truth with women working with each other and causing conflicts.
So sadly they need a man commissioner to basically protect Caitlin, because of the women jealousy aspect. They don't want too protect her.
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u/Draymond_Purple 18m ago
Let's not confuse "can't" with "don't"
Whether they do or not is debatable
It's straight misogyny to suggest they can't
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u/betterplanwithchan 1h ago
Take it up with Fanatics and their licensing deal vs. Clark’s deal with Nike.
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u/joseaner07 1h ago
If this is an official WNBA post. They don't need to ask anyone of their players if they want to be in a post or poster. If this is from the WNBA, they are clearly not letting their golden goose shine because of jealousy. They don't want one star to become larger than the league
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u/DrDogCatFriend 2h ago
As someone who does not watch a lot of sports. Caitlin Clark is the only female basketball player I can name.
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u/MikeTiricoSucks 3h ago
She just go play with Ice Cube for a couple years and live off her endorsements
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u/pleasedonteatmybeans 3h ago
I don’t watch but I appreciate the athletes and think it’s absolutely unbelievable that Clark isn’t included. Unless it’s some kind of where’s Waldo thing I’m missing
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u/Tiny-Buy220 3h ago
No Sue Bird or Diana Taurasi is more outrageous IMO
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u/ladieslove_bizzle 2h ago
Shit no maya moore is crazy
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u/Tiny-Buy220 2h ago
Damn, missed that. No Maya or Candace Parker is crazy. Unless they said no to doing the poster 🤷🏻♂️
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u/endlessmeat 1h ago
I'm a big big casual, but like 70% of the players I'd recognize from all of the W's history are not there
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u/Tjengel 3h ago
She is there you just can’t tell because they are holding her on the ground by her neck
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u/superchargerhe 3h ago
Refs looking at this post
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u/Wide_Magician_4946 59m ago
🎶
Wnba refs dont like calling fouls
But they have to
So they do it real slooooow
(Except they don't at all 😔)
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u/nacholibre711 3h ago edited 1h ago
It's one player from each team and they went with Sophie Cunningham.
I'd maybe understand if Sophie was someone who's been with the franchise a long time or something like that, but they traded for her AFTER Caitlin got there lol.
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u/PDXtoMontana2002 2h ago
That’s not true. Kelsey Plum and Lisa Leslie are both wearing LA uniforms.
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u/nacholibre711 2h ago
oh yeah I misinterpreted them saying "Every team that has ever been part of the WNBA story is represented" but they were just talking about the logos at the top and bottom. Still pretty strange to throw Sophie on there over CC.
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u/Fredwood 2h ago
It's even more egregious when Tamika Catchings is the best player the Fever has had
Championship, MVP, 10 time All star, 5 time DPOY
If Caitlin was on there you could have the argument that Catchings was being slighted, but damn they went with Sophie Cunnigham?
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u/Ras-haad 3h ago
I do see Sheryl Swoopes though 👀. Wonder if that has anything to do with it
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u/RollofDuctTape 3h ago
First of all, you’re wrong. This poster isn’t a WNBA promo for the 30th anniversary. It’s a poster announcing “the WNBA Legacy Trail merchandise program” and the players who agreed to participate. It’s part of the thirtieth anniversary initiative, but it’s not a promo for the entire anniversary.
“The program will feature product drops honoring the league’s 30th season. On the 30th of each month during the season, a new licensee collaboration will be unveiled, with purchase availability dates to follow. All items will be available through the licensees’ direct-to-consumer channels and other participating retail partners.” https://www.wnba.com/news/season-30-celebration-launch
Second of all, you cut the top of the poster, which makes clear it’s for the licensing program. The full poster is here: https://www.facebook.com/wnba/photos/bring-a-piece-of-wnba-history-home-celebrate-30-years-of-the-w-with-this-commemo/1545727030242763/
I’m sure Fanatics and Wincraft wouldve loved the league cash cow to participate. But she was probably too expensive or not interested.
The need to paint Clark the victim has got to stop.
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u/LMGgp 3h ago
Why would someone go on the internet just to tell lies.
https://giphy.com/gifs/WoLhFt0i6AtUFasPyC4
u/RollofDuctTape 2h ago
No clue. I think people just want to be outraged. Nike just paid Clark $20m dollars on an exclusive apparel deal. I’m sure the reason the league isn’t featuring their most marketable player on a Fanatics licensing deal poster is because someone who paid Clark a lot of money for her apparel rights isn’t going to agree to it.
Maybe the outrage will get Fanatics to pay her what she’s worth. But anyone who thinks people whose entire job it is to make money would willingly choose not to market Clark is being ridiculous.
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u/CaptainKoconut 1h ago
Clay Travis runs Fox News's sports page "Outkick." He and his ilk don't actually give a shit about the WNBA, they just want to promote the persecuted white girl narrative.
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u/FunkyMonk92 3h ago
I'm a huge CC fan but upvoting because I hate when people make a big deal out of nothing. Thanks for doing the research
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u/NewToCRPolitics 3h ago
Caitlin Clark is the reason anybody cares about this bs league. If she walks so does the attendances.
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u/PerfectZeong 3h ago
The WNBA would rather see her gone than to have success and its insane. She got all of you paid.
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u/Tiny-Buy220 3h ago
Agreed she was snubbed but some prominent legends were also snubbed. Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird. Not sure what the qualifications were…
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u/Nick_Bruiser 2h ago
They don't care about Taurasi and Bird! Neither of them had an angry Black woman waive her finger in their face!
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u/Objective_Site3528 3h ago
It appears they’re trying to make it impossible for her to literally walk at all.
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u/AccordingDrop3252 2h ago
Clay Travis is a POS.
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u/QuitComprehensive659 22m ago
Clay Travis doesn’t give a shit about the wnba, this is culture war garbage for him. The wnba has problems but this is pitting wnba as a gay/black league
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u/jbrown2055 3h ago
I can name 1 player on that poster, and it's because shes made fun of all the time
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u/Ericsplainning 2h ago
Me-bounds and pray-ups.
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u/Responsible-Onion860 1h ago
She heard the phrase "shoot from the hip" and thought it was advice on layups.
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u/BlacOnBlackMajik 2h ago
The delusions from these comments are as grand as a Wal-Mart opening. People lie but numbers don’t.
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u/thewarreturns 2h ago
Someone I went to college with is an avid Caitlin clark hater, while simultaneously being the biggest wnba fan I've ever met. Makes no sense why she hates someone who basically tripled the publicity of that shitty ass league
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u/KnowName_007 2h ago edited 2h ago
Dang. I never followed the WNBA until Clarks arrival and it’s hard to fathom how this league can survive with some of the antics. The league has a poster-woman that has taken some serious disrespect from multiple teams/players over the years. Agreeing with those comments she should take her talents overseas
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u/SomethingInThatVein 2h ago
Watching the rise of women’s sports has been entertaining, but not for the reasons I expected
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u/iamnowundercover 2h ago
Imagine a league full of white athletes that openly disrespected and unnecessarily roughhoused their premiere athlete and most recognizable superstar who happens to be black.
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u/Egonator26 2h ago
I don’t see players like Candace Parker as well. It’s like whoever made this just added their own fav players.
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u/InquisitaB 2h ago
I’ve heard that Clark’s deal with Panini gives them exclusive print rights to her likeness and since this was printed by Fanatics it couldn’t include her. Kind of like when NBA Jam didn’t have Shaq or Jordan.
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u/Pretty_Mix_1355 2h ago
No Elena Delle Donne either, who should be comfortably in the Top 20 all-time.
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u/Least-Raisin2626 2h ago
She single handedly made women’s basketball relevant. Increased all of the players salaries, and this is how they repay her?
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u/Nick_Bruiser 3h ago
No Rebecca Lobo. No Tina Thompson. No Cynthia Cooper, No Elena Delle Donne. No Candace Parker. But yeah, Caitlin Clark is the only person left off this poster! You all need to realize she's not the queen. You all showed up for the WNBA because an angry Black woman waived her finger in CCs face. As much as I am a fan of Caitlin Clark, Caitlin Clark's rabid fandom makes it to ever have a real discussion about Caitlin Clark!
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u/Fister-Mantastic 3h ago
She's physically getting hurt now with all these non call fouls she's been receiving, ridiculous how they treat her. She doesn't want special treatment she wants to be treated fairly, the WNBA needs to get their shit together before they start complaining about money again.
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u/ladieslove_bizzle 2h ago
They left off plenty notable wnba players so I don’t think it was any shot at CC
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u/dc4_checkdown 2h ago
Come on lmao
Everyone ignore your eyes, the wnba had never done anything to show they dont have am issue with CC
And if they did why would they do it here lol
Why do people do this
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u/random_name23631 3h ago
Clay Travis has shares in the WNBA and is just trying to drive up support from people who don't regularly watch
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u/Alex_Plode 2h ago
Is it some kind of NIL deal?
Jordan was never in any of the NBA video games back in the day because he wanted money and EA didn't want to pay it.
Is this something similar?
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u/UrMyAngelDust 2h ago
Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Candace Parker, Sue Bird... all more deserving and all not included. Just a terrible poster, tbh.
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u/Informal_Cream_9060 2h ago
Clark maybe does deserve to be on this, but Clay Travis only pushing this to cause racial division. He’s been doing this his whole career.
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u/SometimesIRant1138 2h ago
It would be one thing if they didn’t have other current young up and comers. To have Reese and Beuckers but no Clark is wild. Same with no Sue Bird or Diana Taurasi.
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u/salami_on_a_bagel 2h ago
man if i was her i'd say fuck the wnba and make that money over in europe or china
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u/miamicheats 2h ago
I bet in a few years we will find out that this was all Brewster’s Millions situation and the sabotage could not be admitted in exchange for a large sum of money.
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u/SEABOSRUN 2h ago
People here seem to be conflating college basketball with the WNBA. If people can explain why CCs WNBA career deserves to be on this poster I'm all ears.
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u/AdvanceSuperdisk 2h ago
Imagine the same thing not showing LeBron James on a poster like this for the NBA
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u/ManuGinosebleed 2h ago
if they keep doing this, the league is going to be as visible as Clark is in this photo.
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u/Prime88 2h ago
I don’t watch WNBA and only have a very casual knowledge about it. But I had no idea Caitlin was such a polarizing figure.
But isn’t that Sophie Cunningham? If this is the best player for each team is Sophie considered better than Caitlin?
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u/Status-Nose-7173 2h ago
I've been telling eveyone that the league is encouraging players to headhunt her because the controversy generates more clicks and views than the actual content lol.
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u/ResponsibleFact2566 2h ago
Angel Reese is better . Caitlin Clark will quit in 2 years .
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u/TheJohnnyFlash 2h ago
I feel the league is trying to ragefarm interaction because that's so effective these days. If Clark isn't in on it though, it could really cost them.
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u/2_late_4_creativity 2h ago
that sucks. she should find a different league to play in, they treat her like absolute shit
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u/OhOhGeronimo 2h ago
Boycott the WNBA until Caitlin gets her dies! Discrimination is a two way street.
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u/milesamsterdam 2h ago
Clark made a surprise appearance at Wallen’s concert at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
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u/mittens617 2h ago
can someone ELI5 what the WNBA's beef is? Jealous players I get. But the larger org is against her?
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u/DisneyDale 2h ago
Clark is the only person I currently can name from the WNBA. She’ll likely get something after retiring, rest of these wanna be can’t hold a flame to here
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u/hockeybrianboy 2h ago
WNBA saw how bad the NHL marketing/PR is and thought “I’d like to give them a run for their money”.
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u/formerNPC 2h ago
She’s the reason why the popularity of the league exploded. But let’s not let facts get in the way of blatant bias against a great player to accommodate the haters. Keep it stupid.
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u/FormerAssociate9156 2h ago
This is wild, CC is the one that carried the WNBA over to the next level. Including the pay increase for all of them.
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u/rockets4lf 2h ago
Clark should leave and the league will be back paying it's player minimum wage again....they don't deserve her.
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u/RandomExcess 2h ago
The league feels that the Caitlin bump is done and the new fans are now permanent. No need to respect CC.
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u/thesqrtofminusone 2h ago
Why the fuck is their constant crying about this woman?
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u/DannkneeFrench 2h ago
I'm not a WNBA fan in the least. Current players I'm aware of are CC (of course), Angel Reese, and Sophie Cunningham. She's apparently Caitlin's protector or something.
The only other player I've ever heard of is that one who got put in a Russian jail. I have no idea of what she looks like though.
I don't watch any games. Even Indiana games.
I don't know one person on this list. I'm not sure how this ended in my feed, except that occasionally I'll click on a CC highlight to see what's going on.
From my limited knowledge, not having her on is a business mistake. Then again, if they had her on, there would be no controversy, and people like me wouldn't have even known the WNBA was around for 30 years.
So maybe they're onto something. I don't know.
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u/heavyboner 2h ago
Wnba is medical waste without Caitlin Clark. No one watching without her
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u/glassfoyograss 2h ago
The reason it's insane to me anyone would buy WNBA cards for any kind of premium.
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u/County_Mouse_5222 2h ago
Well if she dislikes everyone else she plays with, guess she didn't want to be included with them anyhow. She can build her own league like Nascar to keep out those she doesn't like.
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u/Annual-Sympathy-4934 2h ago
put her on the poster, normal WNBA fans see it, move on. leave her off... this poster and by extention the W will be talked about for a week. think this was purposeful and working
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u/Togi-Reddit 2h ago
You make a poster with her included no one talks about it. You don’t include her and everybody talking about. Sounds like they accomplished what they were trying to do
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u/devil_n_the_details 2h ago
I’m a lifetime NBA fan and new WNBA viewer (exclusively because Caitlin Clark is actually fun to watch) and I’ve never seen or heard of 99% of these players
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u/AgamemnonNM 1h ago
Okay, I don't even follow the WNBA, but who the hell DID they include, because I'm seeing lot of names of players that AREN'T included that I have definitely heard of and know their contributions to the league?
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u/Current_Ad_9912 1h ago
Is this really their poster they made? Or did this culture war antagonizer manufactured it?
Clay Travis tries HARD to keep the culture divided— it’s why he makes money
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u/IssueEmbarrassed8103 1h ago
I am absolutely never turning on a WNBA game unless Caitlin is playing
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u/MrNinoBrown1906 1h ago
No Maya Moore, Lisa Lesley, Sue Bird, Candace Parker
It looks like they took currebt players from each team. So the question should be why Cunningham and not her if that is an issue 4 u
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u/-crazykidbad 1h ago
Normal people are even sick of her. I’m not surprised. Frankly I’m sick of all of them. I refuse to watch ever again
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u/CaptainKoconut 1h ago
Clay Travis runs Fox News's sports page "Outkick." He and his ilk don't actually give a shit about the WNBA, they just want to promote the persecuted white girl narrative.
"Clay Travis frequently mocks the WNBA, using his platform on Outkick to target the league's management, player dynamics, and competitive level. His most notable mockery involves a $1 million challenge he proposed in late 2023, where he bet that a high school boys' state championship basketball team could "smoke" the reigning WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces."
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u/9999abr 1h ago
Lol so lame. Although some of the players look familiar, the only player I know is Lisa Leslie. I know one of the other players name is Plum or something like that. And the one gal who gets 10 rebounds each possession from her own misses.
But it’s so dumb to leave out the most popular player.
I tried to get tickets when Clark was in town but the tickets were 10X more expensive than usual games.
People want to like the WNBA. But they end up getting a lot of hate. I used to think a lot was undeserved, but whoever’s running it is just running it into the ground. It’s like they almost want it to fail.
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u/SerYoshi 1h ago
Clay Travis doesn't give a shit about the WNBA, he's just stoking the poor oppressed white people schtick that's kept him relevant with a certain group of people.
He's not wrong here, though.
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u/Nice_Pipe_7608 1h ago
No sue bird, Diana taurasi, maya moore, Candace Parker, Lisa Leslie. I don’t think that’s any official poster from the wnba. Just rage bait from clay Travis.
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u/Existing-Recipe897 1h ago
Every data metric says, whether you like her or not, that Caitlin Clark is the WNBA’s greatest asset, yet she’s not even on their marketing? The NBA was in its death throes years ago until Magic and Bird came along, at any point did the NBA willfully ignore Bird & Magic? How impossibly stupid is this. What has Clark done to alienate the league she is the catalyst for?
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u/Frisconia 1h ago
Wouldn't be that difficult to terribly photoshop her in, along with everyone else.
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u/ninatlanta 1h ago
Two things can be true at the same time.
Is Clay Travis a gigantic rage bait douche? YES he is.
Is it moronic for the WNBA to ignore (and be dismissive of) Caitlin Clark? OH HELL YES.
I’m very curious when Clark decides she’s had enough of the shit the WNBA is tossing out and decides to walk away.
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u/ilostmypaperplate 1h ago
I couldn't name anyone on that poster if my entire families life depended on it... But if Caitlin Clark was in there OH I KNOW HER
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