After sitting out two games due to a back injury she picked up while landing awkwardly after a jumper against the Phoenix Mercury, Caitlin Clark returned to the court on July 8. Although the Indiana Fever lost the game 106-92, over a million people tuned in to watch Clark’s return to the court. Now, days after that game, with the fallout from the Thomas-Clark foul incident still being discussed, former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines has given her opinion amid the call to protect Clark on the court.

“She’s a generational talent who has revolutionized not just the sport of women’s basketball but women’s sports as a whole. Have they considered that? No. I don’t think so,” Gaines said when explaining why so many care about Clark’s safety during a recent appearance on Fox News.

“Caitlin Clark… she is the golden goose of the WNBA,” she added. “Do they hate her because she’s white? Maybe. Do they hate her because she’s straight? Maybe again. I think it is rooted in jealousy. I think she was the queen of the WNBA before she ever stepped foot on a WNBA court, and they hate her for it.”

There is very little doubt about the impact Caitlin Clark has had on the WNBA. Just last Wednesday, when the Indiana Fever locked horns with the Los Angeles Sparks, the game averaged 1.04 million viewers, making it the most-watched WNBA game ever on USA Sports.

The audience was also 149% higher than the average cable viewership for WNBA regular-season games without Clark in 2025.

However, throughout the season, multiple hard contacts and even players ranking Clark 11th among guards in the All-Star vote have fueled the narrative of other WNBA players singling out Clark. The biggest factor driving that narrative recently was the flagrant foul incident involving Alyssa Thomas on 24 June, which quickly spiraled into extreme online backlash for Thomas.

Despite the league reviewing the call, upgrading it to a Flagrant 2, and Thomas serving a mandatory one-game suspension, the online backlash turned into threats for Thomas.

“You can see what’s being said on social media but as usual, she remains silent and that’s unfortunate when our lives are being threatened,” the Phoenix Mercury star said about the WNBA Commissioner’s silence on June 30.

At the same time, those calling for the league to protect Clark have also raised their voices. Besides Riley Gaines, members of the US Congress also sent a letter to the league urging them to protect who they saw as the face of the WNBA.

“Clark has been hip-checked, poked in the eye, and struck in the throat during games. These incidents go far beyond routine physical play, yet the WNBA and its officiating have too often failed to address these unacceptable incidents and hold players accountable,” wrote RSC Chairman Pfluger as per the official press release.

Yet, as the debate of Clark getting singled out in the league rages on, she and the Indiana Fever remain the driving force behind the WNBA’s rise.

Caitlin Clark and Indiana Fever continue to drive the WNBA’s popularity

Before the season even tipped off, the WNBA announced that all 44 of Indiana’s games would be nationally televised, marking a franchise record and the most national broadcasts for any team in history. And now that we are two months into the season, that decision looks justified.

Even with Caitlin Clark missing two games because of a back injury, the Fever continued to dominate the league’s viewership charts. Her return against the Sparks became a historic television moment, but even without her, the Fever generated massive views.

Their matchups against the Sparks on June 27 averaged 1.57 million on CBS, while the other on July 4 averaged 1.55 million on ESPN. That means that the Fever has now been featured in all five of the most-watched WNBA games this season.

And that is perhaps the biggest sign of her impact. CC hasn’t just brought more eyes to herself; she has helped elevate the Fever brand to a level the franchise has never experienced before. Across ESPN and ABC, WNBA games are averaging 1.3 million viewers this season, up 6% from this point last year.

Indiana has separated itself from the rest of the league, regardless of the discourse surrounding their biggest star and the WNBA.