It’s an idea that just won’t go away. As Caitlin Clark’s meteoric rise continues amid on-court violence, off-court feuds and chaotic refereeing decisions, calls keep coming for her to abandon the WNBA and launch her own league.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy was the most recent high-profile figure to float the theory after distinguished author and USA Today columnist Christine Brennan last year said Clark, with lucrative Nike and Gatorade sponsorships worth millions, has all the power necessary to lead a breakaway.
In recent weeks, the WNBA has been engulfed in more drama after 24-year-old Clark’s Indiana Fever teammate and close friend Sophie Cunningham advocated for restrictions on transgender inclusion in sports, saying she wants to ‘protect young girls’ from ‘biological men’.
The league has since spiraled into chaos – with fans, coaches and players divided on the trans matter.
From conservative activist Riley Gaines attending an Indiana Fever game and clashing with pro-trans protestors, to rival coach Cheryl Reeve wearing a ‘Trans Kids Belong’ t-shirt on the sidelines, the drama has stolen the spotlight from the court.
But when the games begin, things haven’t been much better. Clark was urged by Portnoy to ‘start your own league’ after having a contentious foul called against her when playing the Chicago Sky on Saturday – the latest of multiple incorrect decisions at her expense. The call was dramatically rescinded within hours, clearing Clark to face the New York Liberty on Tuesday, but not before it – rightly – reignited fury.
A source revealed Clark has been ‘frustrated to no end’ with the drama engulfing the league
Recently, Clark was urged by Barstool boss Dave Portnoy to ‘start your own league’ after having a contentious technical foul called against her against the Chicago Sky on Saturday
Portnoy took to social media in the aftermath, saying: ‘Hey @CaitlinClark22, just go start your own league already. Sick league.’
That same game also produced one of the ugliest flashpoints of the year when Sky guard DiJonai Carrington was ejected after striking Cunningham across the head.
Cunningham confronted Carrington and was pulled away by a teammate, before the latter posted ‘WHITE PRIVILEGE’ on social media and tagged the Fever.
That incident landed on top of an already toxic backdrop of rallies and a raging transgender-eligibility row that has trailed the Fever to city after city. It is that combination of chaos that has fueled calls for Clark to take her talents elsewhere.
But a source close to the situation tells the Daily Mail that Clark will not be taking the nuclear option anytime soon.
‘She is not going to take the advice of Portnoy and create her own league,’ the source told the Daily Mail. ‘Caitlin isn’t even looking to consider it.
‘She was offered a BIG3 contract a few years ago but wanted to play in the WNBA and make the league into something it never has been. And though that has happened, the troubling factors of it all have really frustrated Caitlin to no end.’
In July, Clark spoke to ESPN in a candid interview admitting she was ’emotionally exhausted’ by the drama.
Clark’s teammate Sophie Cunningham has been at the center of transgender feud
Clark has a close friendship with Indiana Fever teammate Cunningham away from the court
Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve hit back at Cunningham after wearing a ‘Trans Kids Belong’ t-shirt when her team took on the Fever
‘When I walk out of the locker room, I shouldn’t be not fearful of what the conversation is gonna be… it’s emotionally exhausting. It’s draining,’ Clark confessed.
‘It makes your shoulders tense. Because, you know, people don’t wanna talk about the basketball. They just wanna stir it up and make something else,’ she told SportsCenter.
Meanwhile, our source added: ‘She is accepting she can be the reason for the change that is needed, and she is trying to figure it all out. But since she is such a target, she has to choose her battles wisely.
‘And as much as it would be easy for her to retire or disappear from the situation and not talk about it, she’d never do that because she would never want the zealots to win. She wants to figure it out.’
The turmoil in the league extends well beyond Clark and Cunningham, however.
The row over transgender eligibility escalated further this month when two retired NBA players inserted themselves directly into the debate, claiming their respective desires to declare for the 2027 WNBA Draft.
Enes Kanter Freedom, an 11-year NBA veteran who stands at 6ft 10in, argued that if self-identification alone determined eligibility, he met every requirement to play.
Royce White, a former Houston Rockets first-round pick, quickly followed suit, telling reporters he identifies as a woman ‘sometimes… for purpose of basketball’.
Ex-NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom claimed he is officially declaring for the WNBA Draft in 2027
Engelbert wrote in the memo that the league will ‘always approach this topic thoughtfully’
Social media quickly descended into a frenzy after the announcement from the two NBA veterans, quickly leading to reports claiming that a task force of key WNBA figues will discuss the future of transgender athletes in women’s basketball.
According to a leaked memo sent by under-fire WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, the league will continue to prioritize ‘preserving the integrity of our game and ensuring fair competition.’
However, questions of Engelbert’s authority have been rife, with players across the league openly admit they have zero relationship with the woman running the sport.
Our source added: ‘Most of the players believe that the commissioner is in way over her head and that she isn’t going to be the one to fix this mess that they are in.
‘The racial and sexist and transphobic overtones taking over the league are disturbing and as much as the league wants the players to have a voice, if it is being used as a detriment to the league as a whole, there is no room for that.
‘As we all know, that is not how life works, unfortunately. Engelbert is trying to figure out the best way to move forward, to be fair and on the right side of history, instead of the right side of bigotry.’
Ownership, meanwhile, is said to be increasingly anxious about the league’s popularity stalling under the weight of constant off-court noise.
‘Owners are concerned about the league’s continued growth, and all these controversies are not helping,’ a source said. ‘Sure, take on these social issues, but there needs to be a time for this to be a sport as well.’
Ex-NBA player Royce White trolled critics by posing in a wig and celebrating his ‘feminine era’
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert sent a memo to teams about transgender athletes
The same source suggested financial pressure, more than anything else, will ultimately force change. ‘It will likely happen when it starts effecting their bottom line. Money changes everything,’ they said.
It is Kanter Freedom and White, though, who appear to have drawn the sharpest private criticism from within the league itself.
‘Most owners and players think it is disgusting what Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White are doing,’ a source said. ‘The WNBA is not the Senate or the House; it is a basketball league.’
The insider added that patience within the league for the situation being treated as a political battleground is wearing thin. ‘To be used as a political circus is just an awful position to be put in. The voices of reason and respect have to take over, and that is what everyone is trying to figure out,’ they said.
For now, Clark remains focused on basketball, even as she absorbs the weight of a league that seems to careen from one crisis to the next around her.
