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 comfortable capable to aerial her complaints connected nan league. She's made these feelings known conscionable successful clip for a re-negotiation of nan league's corporate bargaining statement pinch nan union, and nan emergence of a imaginable competitor league. 

During a video question and reply that progressive WNBA fable Sue Bird, Clark was seen complaining astir nan WNBA schedule taking spot successful nan summer. The rookie phenom said nan schedule interrupts her expertise to play women's golf. 

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

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

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

Clark, nan WNBA rookie of nan year, said past period erstwhile nan Indiana Fever was eliminated that she planned to play play until it sewage excessively acold successful Indiana, adding pinch a smile, "Become a master golfer."

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

Now, Clark's passion for play and nan WNBA's interruption of it is prompting a title from Clark astatine a clip erstwhile nan convention should beryllium trying to make her arsenic happy 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 nan 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 nan existent CBA pinch nan convention connected Monday. The national and nan convention had until Nov. 1 to opt retired of nan existent deal, which was first agreed to up of nan 2020 season. Now nan national and nan convention will person to travel to an statement connected a caller deal, arsenic nan players will look to get much of nan gross stock and perchance get different perks from nan WNBA for illustration much clip off. 

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

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

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

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

But Clark has options now, good beyond nan WNBA, 

Outside of leagues successful Europe, Clark now has nan action of joining a caller master women's hoops convention based correct successful her location state too. 

"Unrivaled," nan caller 3-on-3 hoops convention 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 crazy because nan maturation that Caitlin has brought to nan game, nan sheer magnitude of money that she's making these teams, group are having to move their venues for erstwhile she comes to play," Collier said. "And she's getting paid for illustration $75,000 a year... She should beryllium 1 of nan [top-paid] players successful nan world conscionable for nan sheer numbers she's bringing."

Clark besides isn't nan first WNBA superstar to sound grievances pinch nan WNBA schedule up of this caller speech pinch nan league. 

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

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

"I deliberation that moreover successful a non-Olympic year, you deliberation astir All-Star, it’s like, everybody needs immoderate clip aft All-Star break, aliases it’s not a break. So trying to benignant of push that into nan CBA, I deliberation would beryllium really important," Stewart told The Associated Press. "Especially pursuing nan Olympics, because we’ve ne'er had an Olympics successful a 40-game season, isolated from this season."

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

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

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