Caitlin Clark’s arrival in the WNBA brought millions of viewers to the league. A record 2.45 million watched the 2024 WNBA draft, and since then, the records have kept coming. The August 23 game between Clark’s Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky became the most-watched game since the WNBA’s opening night in 1997, exceeding 3.3 million viewers. According to veteran journalist Cari Champion, that growing influence has also created a difficult situation.

Speaking on Wednesday’s episode of the Bakari Sellers Show, Champion spoke about the fact that while Clark has brought a loyal and passionate set of fans to the WNBA, that attention hasn’t been positive. However, the league has been unwilling to confront it because of how dependent it has become on Clark’s popularity.

“What Caitlin Clark has done looks very similar to Steph Curry. She’s made the game impactful and changed it for people who’ve never really watched it. So she brings in this new fanbase, and what this fanbase does is bring in more business. And the WNBA has needed this business.”

“So they look the other way when this fanbase is wholly inappropriate to other players who are just doing their job. They look the other way when the fanbase reacts to critique of Caitlin Clark.” 

“And so if the W really wants to be taken seriously, they cannot be coddled. I’m talking about all players. And I think that they’re mishandling Caitlin in a time that is so polarizing. You’re coddling her, and you’re ignoring this extremely nasty fanbase.”

Champion was careful to acknowledge that not every Clark fan fits that description. But in her view, the segment that does behave in that manner is significant enough and visible enough that the WNBA leadership has an obligation to act.

Caitlin Clark’s fanbase is undeniably enormous and vocal on social media, and, in line with what Champion hinted at, never shies away from being critical. The latest examples of just how vocal Clark’s fans can get came at the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.

While the Indiana Fever star was among the seven World Cup debutants, including Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers, and more, many expected her to be in the starting lineup for Team USA. However, from the very first group stage game, coach Kara Lawson stuck to playing her veteran starter, which included Chelsea Gray starting instead of Clark.

While Lawson stuck to her veteran lineup no matter how narrow the victory margin got against Italy in the quarterfinals and Spain in the semifinals, Clark fans aired their frustration at not seeing CC in the starting lineup, from the very first game.

As Lawson continued to exclude not just Clark but the rest of the first-timers from the starting five, the criticism from a vocal segment of Clark’s fanbase kept coming.

While the FIBA World Cup was the latest example, incidents involving Clark have sparked major backlash during the 2026 WNBA season multiple times already. In fact, in June, things escalated to a WNBA veteran’s safety came into question.

During the June 24, 2026, game between the Indiana Fever and Phoenix Mercury, Alyssa Thomas made contact with her fist to Clark’s throat. However, when the foul wasn’t called, it prompted a significant wave of fan outrage on social media.

Supporters flooded Thomas’s social media pages accusing her of targeting Clark out of jealousy and arguing that the league was failing to protect its biggest star. The problem grew when the online backlash turned into slurs and threats against Alyssa Thomas’s life.

Thomas publicly stated that she received extreme online vitriol from internet users who were angry because of the foul. In fact, the WNBA veteran even called out the league’s Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

“We still have yet to hear anything yet from Cathy. It’s no surprise. You can see what’s being said on social media,” Thomas said.

“It’s unfortunate, but as usual, she remains silent. That’s unfortunate when our lives are being threatened.”

While Engelbert did explain that she was in contact with the team after Thomas called her out, Caitlin Clark finally broke her silence in July. Speaking to the media for the first time since the flagrant foul, she condemned the behavior.

“As I’ve stood up here and said before, like the harassment, the hate, none of that is okay. That goes for the opposing team we play, that goes for my teammates, that goes for my coaches. There should never be question of character.”

That incident also kicked off a wave of discussion and controversy surrounding player safety, with Clark at the center. In fact, even 11 members of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) officially sent a letter to the WNBA commissioner urging her to pay more attention to protecting players.

While that discussion never progressed beyond the letter, and with Commissioner Cathy Engelbert retiring at the end of the year, the questions that Champion raised remain the same. Will the discussion surrounding Clark get reignited during the remainder of the regular season and in the postseason? And even if it doesn’t, will the league have concrete answers on how they plan to prevent what Alyssa Thomas had to go through?