There is little doubt about Caitlin Clark’s popularity, but there are growing questions about the WNBA’s future leadership. Ever since the Indiana Fever star stepped on the WNBA floor, the league’s popularity has skyrocketed, and many praise Clark for this. On the other hand, questions are now being raised about whether WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert will continue after the 2026 season.
Outkick Founder Clay Travis probably has the right idea on what would happen if Clark were to start a league of her own.
Appearing on Thursday night’s show on Fox News, Travis openly claimed that the Fever star is worth more than the entire WNBA.
“I think Caitlin Clark should leave the WNBA and start her own league, a league that would pursue basketball excellence no matter what your race or your gender was,” Travis said. “I mean this. I think that Caitlin Clark is worth more than the entire WNBA right now.
“If she left and started a new league with about eight teams and took all players all over the country who just want to be excellent and don’t want to have a political league, I think it would be more valuable than the WNBA overnight.”
Travis also added that he would invest in such a hypothetical league and so will Fox. He also gave a reason why African-American basketball players might also join.
“I think a lot of African-American players would join that league because they want to play with the best of the best,” Travis added. “And the malcontents out there, the racial arsonists who want to burn it all down, they’re going to be left behind.”
Caitlin Clark-Alyssa Thomas Controversy That Could Factor in Cathy Engelbert’s WNBA Future
According to a report from ESPN, which talked with more than 20 stakeholders in and around the WNBA on the condition of anonymity, many of them don’t think Cathy Engelbert is the right person to lead the WNBA beyond 2026.
“I do think Cathy thinks, well, she’s done her job. She got us financially set up the right way,” one team executive said. “It’s the other pieces that we’re talking about.”
“Here we are with all this stuff that’s happened,” another team executive told ESPN, “and it just, at different points, has felt like, ‘Where are you?'”
Engelbert found herself at the center of controversy after Caitlin Clark and Alyssa Thomas’ incident during a game. The Phoenix Mercury forward’s fist came in contact with Clark’s throat, which could have led to a difficult situation. Despite the severity of the play, the WNBA assessed Thomas with a retroactive Flagrant 2 foul and a one-game suspension with a $1,000 fine.
Two weeks after this punishment announcement, a group of Congressional Republicans demanded “accountability” from the commissioner for “multiple attacks” on Clark.
Engelbert’s rare public instances has only fueled the momentum and it’s not hard to see why she might not be in her position by next year.
Read More News:
“Horrendous”: Reporter Calls Out ‘Double Standard’ Over Nancy Armour’s Caitlin Clark Opinion Piece
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