Stephen A. Smith Says WNBA Is Getting in the Way of Its Own Cash Cow in Caitlin Clark

Caitlin Clark didn’t just change the Indiana Fever when she entered the league. She changed the entire WNBA. The 2024 No. 1 pick brought new viewers, new money and a level of attention the league had never seen before. But one ESPN voice thinks the league is botching how it handles its biggest star.

Stephen A. Smith went scorched earth on the WNBA this week over what he sees as a failure to protect Clark and capitalize on her momentum. The backlash comes after Clark took a couple of cheap shots during a tense game against the Mercury last week. That incident kicked off a media firestorm with some people even suggesting Clark should walk away from the league entirely.

“You’re not the NBA. You don’t have an 11-year, $77 billion contract. You’re still building the league,” Smith said, according to Jonas Panerlo of Basketball Network. “They did a great job with that. The league is growing. But there’s still a lot more work to be done. Don’t get in the way of the cash cow.”

Smith’s warning to the league

The timing of Smith’s comments lines up with the WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement which included massive pay raises across the board. That CBA is a direct result of Clark’s impact. But Smith isn’t satisfied with progress. He wants the league to be smarter about leveraging its star.

“I believe some people have failed to appreciate the mantra that a rising tide lifts all boats. Ride this cash cow till the wheels come off,” Smith said. “They did it in the NBA with Magic Johnson. They did it with Michael Jordan. That’s how you do this.”

The WNBA has made moves to protect Clark but the response has felt reactive rather than proactive. Alyssa Thomas caught a Flagrant 2 foul for making contact with Clark’s throat during a game but the punishment came a full day after the incident. That kind of delayed response is exactly what Smith is pointing at.

Clark missed the Fever’s last game with a back injury and nobody has confirmed whether the cheap shots played a role in that. But the speculation is out there and it’s not going away until she gets back on the floor.

The Fever’s next game is a road matchup against the Aces on July 5th at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Clark could return for that one. The league has to be hoping she does because the noise around her treatment isn’t dying down and it’s putting the WNBA in a bad light it doesn’t need.