Jason Whitlock blasted the WNBA for cheating its fans by giving them false hope that Caitlin Clark could return later this season when they knew all along that she would not.
According to Whitlock, the league even made it worse when they let Clark do the official announcement right before the 2025 NFL season was about to start, insinuating that the league hoped the bigger NFL news would overshadow CC’s sad announcement and make fans forget about getting duped.
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“WNBA, you’re dead. The WNBA pretty much blew its opportunity this year. And when Caitlin Clark announced that she was not returning this season, I’m just sitting here shaking my head like, ‘They blew their opportunity.’ They have one shot. You talk about a fumble. This will go down as one of the greatest fumbles in sports history. They had a chance to elevate themselves. Instead, they disappointed this entire new fan base. Caitlin Clark’s entire sophomore season in the WNBA seemed shady as hell. Did they know since July that she was not coming back? And they wait until now and they announce it an hour before the NFL season kicks off?” Whitlock exclaimed.
An ill-timed announcement
Clark has not played since mid-July when she suffered a groin injury. She went on to miss the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game, which was played in her WNBA home city of Indianapolis. Overall, Caitlin has suited up in just 13 out of the 42 games that the Fever have played so far this season, with still two left to play. However, that’s not the issue.
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The Fever kept telling the public that they were hopeful that Caitlin would be able to return just in time for the playoffs. In recent weeks, fans were made to believe that she was indeed coming back because she started joining Indiana’s practices in some capacity. However, just as when everyone thought Clark was getting closer to playing again, the WNBA broke fans’ hearts by saying she won’t be returning this campaign. Safe to say, Jason was heartbroken as well.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be returning to the WNBA, certainly not the way that I was before this season with Caitlin Clark. I’ve been disappointed. This season has been a disappointment. No guarantee that next season won’t be a disappointment or a work stoppage. And now that I’ve met the WNBA players, I don’t like them. They’re unlikable. I don’t care if they have any success. I like a handful of the Indiana Fever players. That’s it. But I’ve lost interest in that. I’m done. I’m out. No reason to watch the rest of this season. No real reason to return next season,” he added.
Cowherd says he’s out as well
Whitlock’s announcement that he is done with the WNBA came a couple of days after another popular NBA analyst, Colin Cowherd, said he also stopped watching WNBA games since Clark was sidelined. Colin went on to declare that the league goes only as far as Caitlin will take it.
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“There’s a unit or portion of the media that is pro-WNBA to a fault. Then there’s those of us who are realistic. How many times did you watch WNBA games since Caitlin Clark got hurt? Now think about this. It led our show last summer; I think I led with it six times. I led with the WNBA. And either way, I talk about what is interesting. You know why I didn’t talk about it this year? It’s not that I suddenly dislike the league. I thought it was growing. Anybody that wants to argue this, you’re off your rocker. Caitlin Clark is the league,” he asserted.
It’s easy to understand where Whitlock and Cowherd are coming from. There’s a fair chance that right after Clark suffered her latest injury, her team was already contemplating sitting her out the rest of the season, considering it was her fourth injury of a similar type this campaign. Perhaps the Fever and the WNBA could have handled it better by not giving fans and even talking heads false hopes.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 6, 2025, where it first appeared in the WNBA section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
