Boomer Esiason calls on Caitlin Clark to leave WNBA

If the WNBA isn’t going to roll out the red carpet for Caitlin Clark, then Boomer Esiason thinks she should take her talents elsewhere.
After a very physical game between the Phoenix Mercury and Indiana Fever earlier in the week, their second bout Wednesday night was no different, leading to an injury for Clark. After the game, Fever head coach Stephanie White exploded during her postgame press conference, calling out the officiating for not protecting Clark, noting it was “absolutely unacceptable” and “disrespectful.”
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Boomer Esiason took the alleged disrespect a step further on his Thursday morning WFAN radio show, claiming if the WNBA isn’t going to respect Clark, then she should find another league that will.
“If I were Caitlin Clark, I would seriously consider going to play overseas somewhere and get royal treatment,” Esiason ranted. “And get real money.”
Gregg Giannotti asked if his WFAN co-host was suggesting Clark should go take money from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which infamously backed LIV until announcing plans to end its financial support of the golf league after the 2026 season.
“From somewhere,” Esiason said, noting a lot of women basketball players supplement their income by playing in other leagues during the offseason. “I know Caitlin makes a ton of money off the court in terms of endorsements, and rightfully so. But I think there is a petty jealousy, and she’s a straight white basketball player. And she is not being treated with any sort of respect whatsoever.”
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Project B is a startup basketball league looking to recruit WNBA talent that was initially reported to have financial backing from Saudi Arabia. The league, however, later told Front Office Sports that its fundraising doesn’t include any Saudi money, which would align with PIF pulling out of LIV. And under their new collective bargaining agreement, WNBA players have started to see higher salaries which are actually recruiting players from overseas to come play in the United States.
Sure, Caitlin Clark still has options if she wants to leave the WNBA. As Esiason noted, WNBA players frequently join international teams in the offseason. But contrary to Esiason’s belief, if Clark goes overseas to play basketball, she’s not going to a league that is less physical than the WNBA. And if she decides to withdraw from the WNBA, those endorsement deals will probably go away. Nike, Gatorade and State Farm don’t want to pay Clark while playing in a league that isn’t televised in the United States.
Caitlin Clark has been subjected to some bad officiating this season, and throughout her WNBA tenure as opposing players attempt to combat her talent with physicality. As much as Clark continues to be dragged into culture wars, however, it’s disingenuous to allege players get physical with her because she’s straight and white. Contrary to what WNBA detractors are attempting to portray, Clark is not the first straight white player in the league. But if the league wants the conversation around its players to be more about basketball and less about culture wars, they might be wise to listen to Stephanie White.
The post Boomer Esiason calls on Caitlin Clark to leave WNBA appeared first on Awful Announcing.
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