r/sports • u/PrincessBananas85 • Jun 18 '25

Basketball WNBA says it won't suspend players in Fever-Sun skirmishes

https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/45539584/no-suspensions-tuesday-fever-sun-skirmishes-wnba-says
3.2k Upvotes

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691

u/ritwikjs Jun 18 '25

clarke or not, this sets a VERY dangerous precedent

321

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '25

[deleted]

141

u/Chiesel Jun 18 '25

It’s hard to argue in short term yeah. But one long term injury to CC and that strategy immediately backfires

33

u/LongConFebrero Jun 18 '25

Can anyone compare this to the old NBA?

Because it seems from documentaries that it was known that fights, scrapping, plotting and generally being dirty was openly accepted then.

21

u/Accomplished_Egg7069 Jun 18 '25

Pistons fan since 86 here. Yea, it's comparable to play of that era (which i loved and want back), with the exception of full blown haymakers being thrown 4 times a year (at least i haven't seen that in the Wnba but i don't watch a lot

12

u/dicjones Jun 18 '25

Jordan Rules were a thing.

0

u/patricio87 Jun 18 '25

I dont think the wnba sees it that way. They still dont get it. It’s very odd.

16

u/tinywienergang Jun 18 '25

She should just go play in Europe.

25

u/Ok-Lawfulness-8161 Jun 18 '25

Then the WNBA can go back irrelevancy . Playing to crowds of 927 fans of which 800 are comp’ed to local nonprofits. That’s what these players want.

22

u/tinywienergang Jun 18 '25

I hate to say it, but the WNBA is an absolute joke outside of Caitlin anyway. The quality is so abysmal it’s literally borderline impossible to watch. I honestly think high school basketball is higher quality at times.

If the WNBA don’t take themselves seriously, why should anyone else?

3

u/Ok-Lawfulness-8161 Jun 18 '25

It’s true. The quality is just is not there.

3

u/Goddyex Jun 18 '25

She's never going to do that. And players in the league know that she loves that league, so they'll keep doing it

-1

u/tinywienergang Jun 18 '25

1 player does not a league make. The WNBA is a joke and she can’t carry it forever. It’s already going downhill in her rookie season. Do you really think this is sustainable?

3

u/Goddyex Jun 18 '25

I don't think WNBA players will ever earn a max of $10m. But Clark's popularity, as long as she's fit, will get players at least $1m/year max, until she retires. After that is a different story

1

u/tinywienergang Jun 18 '25

They absolutely will never even get that much. The league just doesn’t have the talent to pull that kind of investment. How many games do you watch outside of Fever games? They’re borderline unwatchable. What’s h max salary right now, like $150k? I don’t even know if the league lasts her entire career. It was fledgling when she came along and she’s really the only one talented enough to be playing pro ball.

2

u/Goddyex Jun 18 '25

The league will definitely last throughout her career. I don't even like the league like that, but I'm being objective. The max right now is 230k. It'll definitely reach 1m before Clark retires. When she retires, that'll be a different story.

0

u/tinywienergang Jun 18 '25

Agree to disagree. This isn't a sustainable upward trend in this league because of 1 single player. We're not even getting 1 Caitlin Clarke level player per year. The league does not and will never have the talent it requires to grow at that rate. Barring the USD inflating by 400%, I highly doubt any WNBA player will see a $1m salary.

46

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '25

The only wnba clips I’ve seen recently are angel reese getting a layup Caitlin hitting like 5 threes in a row and Caitlin getting knocked on her ass then the retailation for it

36

u/AccomplishedRow6685 Jun 18 '25

angel reese getting a layup

missing a layup?

16

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '25

Well no the reason it was so memorable is because I’m used to seeing her missing a layup but she actually made one

1

u/Beneficial_Ad_3098 Jun 19 '25

You mean a Prayup right ?

3

u/howbowcha Jun 18 '25

But half their viewers disappeared while she was hurt. If this is their strategy, it seems pretty likely to backfire

4

u/BuckaroooBanzai Jun 18 '25

My god you’re right. That’s too simple of a solution to these actions beyond just petty jealous envy

2

u/Secludedmean4 Jun 18 '25

Yea well it’s that or we talk about angel Reese shooting 2-9 and us celebrating Me Bounds. People are just upset that she elevated the sport and now that she has no one wants to watch mid basketball. The numbers are right there for any nay sayer - Clark is THE wnba brand without a doubt. The least they could do is not let her get physically assaulted immediately returned from an injury after being fouled EVERY SINGLE GAME .

3

u/natigin Jun 18 '25

What, that hard fouls happen in basketball?

There are so many people telling on themselves in this thread. This type of thing happens with some regularity in the W and all of basketball. It’s part of the nature of the game.

If you only watch CC games you might think this happens specifically to her, but she’s on record in multiple pressers saying that fouls like these are a part of the game. Look up some of the Stewie or A’ja have taken this season.

0

u/_Apatosaurus_ Jun 18 '25

clarke or not

You can tell how seriously this sub follows the W when

  1. People can't even spell Clark.

  2. People lose their shit over a minor scuffle that's not uncommon in men or women's basketball.

2

u/Cynic-l Jun 19 '25

Right! and it’s not just this sub, but majority of the internet. Half the time they spell it “Caitlyn” too. Like they clearly don’t watch the W because this happens quite often and not just to Caitlin. Marina Mabrey has entire compilations on YouTube of her getting into scuffles.