Former ESPN host Sarah Spain is upset over a USA Today column by Christine Brennan urging the WNBA to do more to protect Caitlin Clark.
“A fist to the throat. That’s the picture that has immediately become part of WNBA lore,” Brennan began, referring to Alyssa Thomas driving her fist into Clark’s throat during a recent game. “In it, Caitlin Clark, the most famous, marketable and important women’s professional team sport athlete in history, is being punched by Alyssa Thomas, whose earnings, fame and way of life have all been greatly enhanced over the past couple of years by the woman she is hitting.”
She continued:
“For three seasons now, in ways big and small, the WNBA and its players have continued to show their unabashed jealousy, disdain and outright hatred for the greatest thing to happen to them.
“Clark is getting pummeled on a regular basis and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who was given the greatest gift, in Clark, any women’s sports commissioner has ever received, has done precious little about it, until today, kind of, just a little.”
Brennan’s thesis should hardly be considered controversial. She argues that Clark has been the target of more hard fouls and dirty plays than any other player in the WNBA because of jealousy and resentment. Brennan believes the league should prevent the situation from escalating before Clark suffers a serious injury and the WNBA loses its biggest attraction.
According to Spain, Brennan making that argument is a “dereliction of duties as a journalist.”
LET’S HAVE AN HONEST CONVERSATION ABOUT CAITLIN CLARK, RACISM, AND MEDIA COWARDICE | BOBBY BURACK
“We would never say the ‘NBA hates’ fill-in-the-blank,” Spain said in a video posted to LinkedIn on Monday. “That’s describing every single player in the league as having that opinion and being a part of an agenda. She does that all the time with the WNBA, and it is frankly dereliction of duties as a journalist.”
Before we proceed, we’re also wondering why Spain posted the video on LinkedIn instead of a more traditional social media platform. Strange.
Still, Spain has become one of the more miserable personalities in all of sports media, assuming she is still part of the industry. Earlier this year, she made headlines for calling Vice President JD Vance a “demon” who “made her feel ill” after he was seated near her during a Team USA Olympic hockey game.
So it’s no surprise to see her side against Brennan and Clark.
Through no fault of her own, Clark has become part of the culture war. Because many Black players and media members dislike her, many on the left have cast Clark and her fans as villains.
This week, Jemele Hill claimed, “The right has found their White Grievance Batman in Caitlin Clark.”
Naturally, Spain is going to oppose Brennan’s defense of Clark. She also may be jealous of Brennan, who, unlike Spain, doesn’t seem to feel the need to speak in code or conform to the prevailing opinion.
Spain has spent much of her career trying to fit in with the cool kids, limiting the depth and honesty of her commentary.
Of course, Brennan is right. The WNBA shouldn’t protect Clark because she is its biggest star or give her special treatment. The league should simply enforce the rules the same way it would for every other player. That means not allowing bitter opponents to drive their fists into another player’s throat without meaningful consequences.
And most common-sensical Americans agree. As a rule, vultures like Spain are a part of the loud minority. Perhaps that’s why she is relegated to expressing her rage on Bluesky and LinkedIn.
