She brought millions of new eyeballs to a league that had long struggled for mainstream attention.She's also a marketing juggernaut, with endorsement deals from the likes of Nike, Gatorade and State Farm.
But like Tiger in his prime, perhaps the greatest measure of Clark's star power is that when she's absent — the audience is, too.This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.If you sign up or place a wager, FOX News may be compensated.
This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom.Nothing illustrates that phenomenon better than the WNBA's national anthem controversy.WNBA SILENT AFTER FINALS TEAMS SKIP NATIONAL ANTHEM DESPITE RULE REQUIRING PLAYERS TO STAND AND LINE UPCrystal Renee Hayslett performs the national anthem before Game 4 of the WNBA Finals at State Farm Arena.The Dream and Valkyries were off the court for the fourth straight Finals anthem.
(Getty Images)All year long, players and coaches from the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries have been running off the court before the Star-Spangled Banner is played.Then, just after "the home of the brave" is sung, they return to the floor.
Neither team has publicly explained why it follows this routine, nor have they said what the players and coaches do during those 90-some-odd seconds.But the wildest part of all this is that, until these WNBA Finals — nobody seemed to notice.If an NFL or NBA team had engaged in a similar practice during the regular season, it would be one of the biggest sports stories — or even news stories — in the country.
Pundits would be regularly weighing in on the matter, activists would be mobilizing, and a nationwide debate on the issue would ensue.WNBA FINALS: ANGEL REESE HEADLINES CHAMPIONSHIP SHOWDOWN AS LEAGUE SEEKS TO DRAW VIEWERS WITHOUT CAITLIN CLARKCaitlin Clark received just one first-place vote for WNBA MVP despite a historic season, while 19 voters left the Indiana Fever star off their ballots entire...