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Jason Whitlock delivers brutal reality check to WNBA commissioner as Caitlin Clark's injury results in massive ratings plunge
Veteran sports analyst Jason Whitlock fired shots at WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert as the league's TV ratings have plunged in the absence of Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark.
USA Today reported on Wednesday that the WNBA's national TV ratings have declined since Clark was sidelined with a quad injury she suffered on May 24. According to Nielsen, the nationally televised WNBA games' ratings are down 55%, while the Fever's national TV ratings have declined by 53%.
Viewership of Indiana's games is down to 847,000 viewers from 1.8 million before Clark's injury.
On Thursday's "Fearless," Whitlock discussed the ratings dip with sports journalist Steve Kim. Whitlock criticized those who do not recognize that the WNBA's popularity is driven by the reigning Rookie of the Year.
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"The commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, is another one of these clowns," Whitlock said. "When she did this and the WNBA, we put all these pieces in place to experience all these growth, Caitlin Clark disappears with a quad injury and the entire league craters ratings. I think this debate is over."
Kim responded:
"That commissioner taking credit for the ascension of the league is [like] Sasha Vujacic taking credit for the two Lakers titles 2009 and 2010. ... Losing half their audience at 50%, this is only half of the loss I thought they'd have. I truly thought that the ratings would actually dip even more. I'm actually surprised they've only lost half of their audience."
Clark has missed five straight games, and four of those are broadcast nationally. The Fever has a WNBA-record 41 national TV games this season. Only three Indiana games are not scheduled to be televised nationally, and one of those was Tuesday's 77-58 road loss to the Atlanta Dream.
Stephanie White provides an update on Caitlin Clark's injury ahead of her possible return on Saturday
Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White gave an update on the injuries to Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham. The Fever return to action on Saturday to host the defending champion New York Liberty at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The Indianapolis Star's Chloe Peterson tweeted White's comments during the team's practice session on Thursday.
"We limited their reps but really tried to get them up and down the floor a little bit, start to try to get into game rhythm, game speed, game pace," White said. "Timing a little bit off, rhythm a little bit off. But continuing to try to work them in as much as we could."
Caitlin Clark has played in just four games this season, and in the five games she missed, the Fever is just 2-3. Before the injury, the second-year star was averaging 19.0 points, 9.3 assists and 6.0 rebounds on 40.3% shooting.
The Fever (4-5) hope to have all hands on deck as they face the Liberty (9-0), the only remaining undefeated team in the league.
