ESPN Missed Hiring Caitlin Clark for a Special Role in WNBA Playoffs, as Per Analyst

Candace Parker, Chiney Ogwumike, and most recently, Aliyah Boston. These are some WNBA stars turned broadcasters, Boston during off-season, that keep their fans glued to the screens. But can the ‘golden rookie’ also join their ranks? After a historic rookie season, Caitlin Clark left the playoffs in the first round, ending her first WNBA season on a high note, with a Rookie of the Year title. However, while the point guard gave her exit interviews to the media soon after the postseason began, one analyst thinks she should have stuck around.

On the ‘OutKick Hot Mic’, Jonathan Hutton and Chad Withrow look at the postseason numbers and claims of how viewership has gone down, or not gone down, because of Clark’s absence. But then Hutton asks, “I don’t know how, this happened during the Olympics too. How is ESPN-? Maybe they have, I don’t know. Maybe she doesn’t wanna do it – but wouldn’t you want Caitlin Clark as an analyst on the desk? Have her on the broadcast in some way? I haven’t heard a peep about that. Even the columnist, you know, do nothing but cover media, and the business decisions. Haven’t heard anything about that.”

A similar conversation took place when Clark was left off the Olympic team. Amid talks of the Fever rookie not being talented enough or being too green for the quadrennial event, involving the 22-year-old in some way to boost ratings had been suggested as well. Journalist Bomani Jones had said at the time, “I could make a very strong argument that that is an audience that would love them some Caitlin Clark, because I feel like that is, in part, an audience that is fueling the phenomenon of Caitlin Clark.”

But Hutton points out how the NBA faced a similar situation and made the most of it, “But yet for the NBA Finals, last year or the year before, the Celtics player that no one had even heard of was on the desk for ESPN and ABC. This [Caitlin Clark behind the mic] would be a no-brainer but we don’t see it because the WNBA doesn’t want to embrace that.”

When CC went viral for her baseball commentary skills, the analyst job had been jokingly suggested then as well. But perhaps the W should make quick use of her popularity before another sport snatches her up! If Clark somehow does end up behind the microphone, there is one thing that another analyst would like her to do.

Caitlin Clark should be more ‘proactive’, says WNBA broadcaster

The extreme narrative surrounding Caitlin Clark is not new. Some players have spoken up about how the Fever rookie’s fans have made them feel uncomfortable online. For the most part, Clark does not take to X or Instagram to police what people are or aren’t saying about her or her rivals. But she does speak against trolls and calls for a more positive attitude when asked.

For Ros Gold-Onwude, an NY Liberty broadcaster, it’s not enough. “Caitlin has not had a proactive approach around toxic fandom, or…being proactive against any type of hateful discourse around the WNBA and its players,” Gold-Onwude said on “The Dan Le Batard Show” a few days ago.

But this statement opens up a whole can of worms around what a rookie player’s responsibility off the court should be. Should Caitlin Clark only focus on her play and address haters when she’s asked, as she’s doing now? Or is it the 22-year-old’s responsibility to use her agency and her popularity to set the tone in the way some around the W would like? However, with Aliyah Boston already in ESPN’s own roster, maybe the ‘Iowa sensation’ can end up there.