It is no secret that professional women’s sports have struggled to earn respect and attention. It was only in 1996 that the most famous female sports league, the WNBA, was founded, and it has not had nearly a fraction of the success of its male counterpart, the NBA.
Women’s sports go unnoticed for two reasons. The first reason is the obvious; there is not as strong of a demand for spectators of women’s sports, as public opinion often disregards and mocks female athletes.
The second reason is that female sports lack investment; it takes investments in marketing, stadiums, equipment, trainers, athletes, and countless other expenses to start a professional sports league. Sports leagues have billion dollar price tags and are a risky investment. What has kept investors cautious of women’s sports is the first reason; without a large public demand, professional women’s sports will continue to lack adequate investments, and without investments, there will still be a lack of demand for women’s sports. This is the endless cycle that plagues professional women’s sports, but the WNBA might be the first to break the curse.
Over the last few years, college basketball superstar Caitlin Clark has become a household name, especially over the course of the last season. The 22-year-old played for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes, and lit up Division I women’s basketball. She brought her team to both the 2023 and 2024 championship games in the famous March Madness tournament. This year’s championship game between South Carolina and Iowa amassed 19 million average viewers on television and, for the first time in history, surpassed the viewership of the men’s championship.
There is no denying what drove this outstanding success and attention: Caitlin Clark. On March 3, 2024, Clark broke the all-time Division I basketball scoring record, formerly held by powerhouse Pete Maravich. In anticipation of the record breaking game, celebrities like rapper Travis Scott were in attendance at the Iowa games to support Clark in her big accomplishment. There is no doubt that she is bringing new credibility, attention, and fans to women’s basketball, which ultimately uplifts women’s sports—however, she can not carry this weight alone.
Caitlin Clark has presented the WNBA with a chance it has been waiting for since its creation; she has such a strong following that people will attend her games and subsequently support the WNBA because they are interested in it, not because they want to do charity work. When Clark fans or critics attend her games, they will witness everything the league has to offer: all the other talented athletes, coaches, and teams in women’s professional basketball.
Critics of Clark, many of whom are current players in the WNBA, claim she is overrated and will not be able to keep up with the game at the professional level, but this is not the time to bring her down. With the opportunity to prove itself as a league, the WNBA can earn itself a following, and redefine women’s professional sports.
