Sports analyst Jason Whitlock blasted the WNBA’s handling of Caitlin Clark’s injury situation, saying he felt cheated and left to watch a diminished product without the Indiana Fever star on the court.
On Thursday, Clark revealed she would miss the rest of the season. The reigning Rookie of the Year, who had been sidelined since July, could not recover from a nagging groin injury despite weeks of rehabilitation.
The team had remained optimistic about her return, but the official announcement that she was done for the year only came with three games left in the Fever’s regular season.
“When you talk about some of the biggest fumbles in the history of sports, what transpired this year in the WNBA and with Caitlin Clark is the biggest fumble in the history of sports,” Whitlock said in his “Fearless” show on Friday.
“This is the most disappointing season I’ve ever had as a sports fan because … she misses 30 of the games, and they keep stringing us along. Maybe she’ll come back. Maybe she won’t. Maybe she’ll come back. … They kept it all secret.”
Whitlock added that the constant speculation left him feeling deceived.
“They kept her hidden from everybody. So now I feel like I’ve been ripped off and built and I’ve been forced to watch a bunch of angry feminists wave a finger at me, call me the bad guy.”
This WNBA season has seen several key flashpoints where Caitlin Clark’s presence could have made a difference. An injury kept her out of the All-Star Game in Indianapolis, a notable absence during a year when players are actively lobbying for higher pay.
Caitlin Clark expresses frustration over injury
The Fever’s 2025 campaign has been riddled with setbacks. Alongside the DeWanna Bonner controversy earlier in the year, the team suffered a string of season-ending injuries to guards Aari McDonald, Syd Colson, Sophie Cunningham and, most recently, two-time All-Star Caitlin Clark.
On Thursday, Clark finally confirmed on social media, nearly two months after her last game, that she would not return.
“I had hoped to share a better update, but I will not be returning to play this season,” she said. “I spent hours in the gym every day with the singular goal of getting back out there, (and) disappointed isn’t a big enough word to describe how I am feeling.”
With two games remaining, the Fever sit seventh in the standings at 22-20, just above the 22-20 Seattle Storm at eighth. Their 97-77 win over the slumping Chicago Sky on Friday, combined with the LA Sparks’ 104-85 defeat to the Atlanta Dream, bolstered Indiana’s playoff hopes.
