Free Republic

WNBA superstar A’ja Wilson said the elephant in the room when it comes to the enormous popularity of Caitlin Clark is the fact that she is a White woman. Clark is by far the most heralded basketball player since Larry Bird entered the NBA in 1979 alongside Earvin “Magic” Johnson. But when you juxtapose Clark’s resumé with Wilson’s, the contrast is startling and begs the question as to why Clark already has a signature Nike shoe deal and Wilson did not until this past week.

Caitlin Clark’s new WNBA salary went viral, and even President Biden is taking notice. Clark, selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever on Monday in the 2024 WNBA Draft, is set to make $76,535 her rookie year and $338,056 over the next four seasons, according to Spotrac. WNBA salaries have been a topic for years — often forcing players to go overseas to play in the WNBA offseason — but Clark’s rise in stardom has brought new interest — and opinions — to the sport.

ABC's telecast of South Carolina's win over Iowa is the most watched basketball game, college or pro, since 2019.For the third time in seven days, the NCAA women’s basketball tournament drew its largest audience ever.Some 18.7 million people watched South Carolina cap an undefeated season by beating Iowa, 87-75, in Sunday’s championship game, according to preliminary Nielsen ratings (which may edge up when final numbers come in early Tuesday). The audience is the largest ever for a women’s basketball game in the United States — and among the biggest for any women’s team sporting event.Sunday’s broadcast on ABC and ESPN...

Whiteness didn’t contribute to Caitlin Clark’s stardom. But it’s certainly the biggest factor in why black analysts and former players hate her so much. These comments/hate would never be directed at any non-white person. 4:25 PM · Apr 7, 2024 · 157.5K Views

CLEVELAND — Women’s college basketball continues to grab the nation’s attention at an unprecedented rate, and the metrics prove it. The Final Four game between Iowa and Connecticut on Friday was the most-watched basketball game ever aired on ESPN; an average of 14.2 million viewers tuned in, and the broadcast peaked at 17 million viewers. Iowa defeated U-Conn., 71-69, to advance to its second consecutive national championship game with star guard Caitlin Clark leading the way. The previous record for an ESPN basketball broadcast was 13.51 million viewers for Game 7 of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference finals between the...

Monday night’s women’s basketball game between Iowa and LSU was the most watched women’s basketball game ever.Monday night's rematch between @IowaWBB & @LSUwbkb scores as the MOST-WATCHED WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL GAME ON RECORD12.3M viewers Most-watched college basketball game EVER on ESPN platformsMore details to come…#NCAAWBB | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/55FU8C1NwD— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) April 2, 2024How big of a night was it?At 12.3 million viewers, last night's Iowa-LSU game had more viewers than:• Any women's CBB game ever • The 2023 NBA Finals • The 2023 World Series • The 2023 Orange Bowl • The 2023 Big Ten Championship • The 2023...