Caitlin Clark calls out WNBA for schedule amid offer from rival league and possible player lockout

Caitlin Clark is 1 play into her WNBA career, but already feels comfy capable to aerial her complaints connected the league. She's made these feelings known conscionable successful clip for a re-negotiation of the league's corporate bargaining statement with the union, and the emergence of a imaginable rival league. 

During a video interrogation that progressive WNBA fable Sue Bird, Clark was seen complaining astir the WNBA docket taking spot successful the summer. The rookie phenom said the docket interrupts her quality to play women's golf. 

"The lone downside astir the WNBA is [that it's] during the summer. That's erstwhile you golf," Clark continued with a smile. "So I've had my play instrumentality a backmost spot to basketball."

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Clark has precocious leaned into her passionateness for play aft the extremity of her rookie WNBA season, erstwhile the Indiana Fever mislaid to the Connecticut Sun successful the playoffs. 

Clark is going to The Annika successful November, the penultimate tourney connected the LPGA Tour docket hosted by Annika Sorenstam, to play successful the pro-am and beryllium a panelist astatine the Women's Leadership Summit astatine Pelican Golf Club.

Clark, the WNBA rookie of the year, said past period erstwhile the Indiana Fever was eliminated that she planned to play play until it got excessively acold successful Indiana, adding with a smile, "Become a nonrecreational golfer."

"I emotion play truthful the accidental to play successful the pro-am for a tourney with a fable similar Annika Sorenstam’s sanction connected it is truthful exciting," Clark said. "I'm looking guardant to seeing each the LPGA players connected the driving range, being portion of the Women’s Leadership Summit, and, of course, teeing it up successful the pro-am with Annika."

Now, Clark's passionateness for play and the WNBA's interruption of it is prompting a ailment from Clark astatine a clip erstwhile the league should beryllium trying to marque her arsenic blessed arsenic possible. 

CAITLIN CLARK LAMENTS PRICEY FEVER SEASON RICKETS AND LOW WNBA SALARIES 

Indiana Fever defender Caitlin Clark and Sun guardant DeWanna Bonner speech words during the first-round WNBA playoff series, Sept. 25, 2024, successful Uncasville, Connecticut. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

The Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) voted to opt retired of the existent CBA with the league connected Monday. The national and the league had until Nov. 1 to opt retired of the existent deal, which was archetypal agreed to up of the 2020 season. Now the national and the league volition person to travel to an statement connected a caller deal, arsenic the players volition look to get much of the gross stock and perchance get different perks from the WNBA similar much clip off. 

The determination to opt retired came aft a grounds twelvemonth for the WNBA successful some viewership and attendance. The playoffs saw a viewership summation of much than 140% earlier the WNBA Finals adjacent started, which marked the highest viewership since the league's inaugural play successful 1997. 

Clark played the biggest portion successful this detonation successful popularity. One of her playoff games generated 2.5 cardinal viewers unsocial and the 15 most-watched games of the regular play this twelvemonth each included Clark. Clark besides helped the league interruption the single-game attendance grounds and situation NFL games for viewers connected aggregate occasions. 

The WNBA besides announced a caller media rights concern with TNT Sports that volition spot much than 45 primetime regular-season games broadcast connected TNT and truTV, with each games streamed connected Max. Clark is the biggest azygous operator of TV ratings that women's hoops has ever seen. CBS, ABC, ESPN, ESPN 2, ION and NBA TV each acceptable records for the most-watched WNBA crippled connected their respective platforms this season, and each of those games progressive Clark.

She is the sport's astir transcendent superstar and the WNBA's biggest plus successful trying to execute profitability, which it ne'er has. 

But Clark has options now, good beyond the WNBA, 

Outside of leagues successful Europe, Clark present has the enactment of joining a caller nonrecreational women's hoops league based close successful her location state too. 

"Unrivaled," the caller 3-on-3 hoops league spearheaded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, is readying a "full-court press" to enlistee Clark, according to Front Office Sports.

"It's conscionable truthful brainsick due to the fact that the maturation that Caitlin has brought to the game, the sheer magnitude of wealth that she's making these teams, radical are having to determination their venues for erstwhile she comes to play," Collier said. "And she's getting paid similar $75,000 a year... She should beryllium 1 of the [top-paid] players successful the satellite conscionable for the sheer numbers she's bringing."

Clark besides isn't the archetypal WNBA superstar to dependable grievances with the WNBA docket up of this caller dialog with the league. 

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LSU's Angel Reese and Iowa's Caitlin Clark airs for a photograph earlier the WNBA draft, April 15, 2024, successful New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)

Stewart spoke retired astir the deficiency of clip disconnected for the players who represented the U.S. successful Paris and brought location golden for the eighth consecutive Olympics, successful August. 

"I deliberation that adjacent successful a non-Olympic year, you deliberation astir All-Star, it’s like, everybody needs immoderate clip aft All-Star break, oregon it’s not a break. So trying to benignant of propulsion that into the CBA, I deliberation would beryllium truly important," Stewart told The Associated Press. "Especially pursuing the Olympics, due to the fact that we’ve ne'er had an Olympics successful a 40-game season, but this season."

Fellow two-time WNBA MVP and Las Vegas Aces prima A'ja Wilson, who won Olympics MVP successful Paris, said the deficiency of clip disconnected aft the Olympics could pb the players to bring the contented "to the table."

"I deliberation if it is simply a accidental for america to spell to the array and say, ‘Hey, we should get much remainder time,’ adjacent if it’s... conscionable a mates of days. It’s brainsick to spot players play caller disconnected of a level successful a sense. So yeah, I don’t caput asking for that," Wilson told The Associated Press. 

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