The WNBA is not a legitimate sports league. It’s a charity funded by the NBA and it’s owners. Left to it’s own means it would go bankrupt. And so it can afford to do whatever it wants. Just so long as it doesn’t do anything to offend the wrong people. It does not consider Caitlin Clark or her fans to be the wrong people.
To elites, if you are not in their clique, you aren’t worth a penny. I was sexually assaulted in school, fondled by the same 3-5 kids. It worsened when I was forced out for being assaulted in nasty ways each day. Elites don’t like it if their sacred ideals (60’s ideals, boys wanted the girls’ dress code, no school, rock music) were violated.