Womens basketball is out to destroy superstar Caitlin Clark and itself, too

What sports league, handed a generational talent who has played brilliantly and delivered massive commercial dividends, would make this very same player seem unwelcome and an object of scorn?The WNBA.Caitlin Clark arrived in the league three seasons ago already a superstar considered one of the greatest college players in the history of the sport, and instantly boosted the league — otherwise a commercially marginal outfit — to another level. For her trouble, the Indiana Fever star has been treated like a virus that the league’s antibodies seek to reject. The latest controversy erupted after a player with the Phoenix Mercury named Alyssa Thomas pressed her fist to Clark’s neck when the Fever guard was prone on the court.The officials missed the foul in real time, but the league later deemed it a flagrant foul and suspended Thomas for one game. The episode was shocking given Clark’s importance to women’s basketball — a little like Tom Brady getting clotheslined, or Shohei Ohtani getting hit by a pitch, and the refs or umps not noticing. Still, ABC News ran a sympathetic segment about Thomas, who is black, getting death threats after the incident.Meanwhile, sports influencer Emmanuel Acho claimed the incident showed that Clark is more trouble than she’s worth. That’s a little like saying in the 1940s or 1950s that Major League Baseball didn’t need Ted Williams.Now of course, Clark hasn’t proved herself one of the greatest offensive forces in her league’s history, the way Teddy Ballgame did.She has a chance, though, if she stays healthy — all the more reason for the WNBA to keep her from getting singled out for hard fouls on the court. Players envious of Clark should realize that the only reason a segment of fans care about the league is that she is playing in it. A player who is very good, and also famous and charismatic, is a priceless commodity for any league — and the entire WNBA should be grateful for what it has in Clark. They u...