Why can’t the WNBA figure out how to handle Caitlin Clark?

Published August 14, 2026 5:30am ET



Imagine a neighborhood restaurant that hires an up-and-coming star chef, but then doesn’t get her the ingredients she needs, lets the other kitchen staff hassle her, barely mentions her in the restaurant’s own advertising, and does little to protect her when the rest of the staff starts taking swings at her. What would you call that kind of management? Feckless, at best? Maybe even worse? Well, that’s more or less been the story of the WNBA’s handling of Caitlin Clark since she arrived in the league in 2024, and this season, the situation has gotten even shakier.

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