When Caitlin Clark entered the WNBA she brought along an audience unlike any the league had ever seen: millions of casual fans who weren’t necessarily interested in women’s basketball, but were nonetheless intrigued by this ponytailed wonder shooting three-pointers from the half-court logo. Three years since she became a household name at the University of Iowa, the 24-year-old Indiana Fever star hasn’t just become a potent vessel for culture-war anxieties and grievances. She has been cast in the role of a victim under siege from jealous rivals, negligent referees and league officials who resent her popularity and influence. Every snub becomes an obvious clue in hindsight for her most extreme fans, every controversy an open-and-shut case.
Last week, the WNBA released a poster to commemorate its 30th anniversary, and it hit the internet like a Magic Eye picture from the 1990s. Rubberneckers looked right past the 20 players who made the cut and started asking about the one who didn’t: Clark. “I assume the back side is just a photo of CC,” one Facebook user snarked. “I mean she saved the league.”
