“If it’s gonna help move the game forward, absolutely.” Those were Caitlin Clark’s words when she was asked about her rivalry with Angel Reese. Both the WNBA rookies have helped record sold-out games. The duo has done their best to help women’s basketball gain more popularity such that the Indiana Fever is likely to show an exponential increase of 889% in franchise revenue. As for the Sky, the projected revenue this season is $95 million whereas last year they could only make $12.5 million. Now, Reese and Clark are on their way to helping another sport gain popularity apart from women’s basketball.

Lacrosse star Sydni Black came forward in an exclusive chat with The Baltimore Sun to share how Reese and Clark’s effect has translated to women’s sports and how it will help grow lacrosse. Let’s see what she had to say.

Sydni Black shares how Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have helped women’s sports

Black complimented not just Reese and Clark but also women soccer players for being an advocate of women’s sports. “It’s been a long time coming for women’s sports, and Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and all of the WNBA and [National Women’s Soccer League] players who have really taken on that burden of elevating women’s sports for the better are only going to make lacrosse grow. This is one of the most exciting sports in the entire world, and once you see it, you can recognize it yourself,” Black said, via The Baltimore Sun.

The WNBA has been recording exceptional numbers. The games average a whopping 1.32 million viewers across all the broadcasting channels, almost triple last season’s average of 462,000. The first month of the cash-rich league saw the highest attendance since 1998. And the two stars who have been at the fore of this growth are Reese and Clark.

The Indiana Fever’s game with Chicago Sky in mid-June became the most-rated game on CBS Sports. The game had a whopping 2.3 million viewers which again proved that Reese and Clark had brought their NCAA college fans to the W. The WNBA officials have also planned to commit close to $50 million over the course of the 2 seasons to help provide charter flights to its athletes something which wasn’t the norm earlier. Hence, the W has certainly grown in stature and revenue with the emergence of Clark and Reese. And not only Black, but even lacrosse stars like Charlotte North have come out to speak in favor of Clark.

Caitlin Clark is an inspiration to another Lacrosse star

North who is a budding star and much like Clark set many NCAA D1 records talked about how Clark has been an inspiration for her. She talked about the “pressures” faced by Clark in the WNBA much like how North herself has been dealing with at Athletes Unlimited professional league, which she had joined in 2022.

As per North, Clark is an “amazing athlete and competitor” and also a “role model” dealing with so much limelight in her rookie year itself. These qualities as per North’s own admission have been “really remarkable” and something that inspires her as well.

Reese and Clark have not only grown the league but also made women’s sports more accessible to the audiences. Hopefully, as Sides stated this would translate into other sports soon as viewers accept women’s athletes with open arms. Till then Clark and Reese can continue to give their best on the court and have more viewers cheering for them.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.