“Poor Brittney Griner Ended Up in Prison”: Nick Wright Questions WNBA While Commending Caitlin Clark’s Financial Impact

The growth of the WNBA has become more of a question than a fact. Many want to give the utmost credit to Caitlin Clark and the 2024 rookie class. At the same time, many want the veterans to keep the credit. While we may not have concluded just yet, we do have one more sportscaster accepting that it was indeed the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer who moved the needle. Bringing to light the case of Phoenix Mercury’s Brittney Griner, who the Russian police apprehended, Fox Sports 1’s Nick Wright gave his point of view.

Talking to Colin Cowherd on his podcast, Wright thrashed the WNBA for its laziness. “There’s a proof of concept overseas that women’s basketball can be profitable. That’s why, poor Brittney Griner ended up in prison. A lot of these women go overseas, make a lot more money and that’s not charity. They’re not getting paid out of charity. It’s because those leagues and those countries have found ways to monetize in a way that the WNBA hadn’t,” Wright said, via The Colin Cowherd Podcast.

The sportscaster also praised the Fever rookie for making the changes to the financial image of the league. He gave Caitlin Clark his flowers saying, “But now, with Caitlin, they have no choice but to adapt and evolve because there’s going to be money pouring in because there’s so many eyeballs on it now.”

Wright accepted that the WNBA was still a powerful league in the US before Caitlin Clark. However, he also mentioned that it was only in terms of women’s basketball. Setting the record straight, he cleared that it may have been growing every season, but it was the Des Moines native who boosted it to great heights. But it begs the question as to why before the rookie, everyone saw the league as a failure.

Why was the WNBA not successful as a business before Caitlin Clark?

Former NBA players like Gilbert Arenas have mentioned how the WNBA used to be synonymous with monetary loss. While there were players like A’ja Wilson, Candace Parker, and many more who brought the league to light, it was never enough. However, before Caitlin Clark even entered the professional grounds, she boosted it in many ways. Mostly, it was the financial growth. Her No. 22 jersey was sold out on the draft night itself. Additionally, Indiana broke its attendance record of multiple years with just 5 games. Other numbers for the WNBA are also on the rise with this impactful rookie. So why was it not so before her?

Wright explained this by saying, “The WNBA was not well-run. Flatly. They had a product that could be monetized in a way. The fact of the matter is whoever’s fault it was, it was a league that as a business was not a highly successful one at all.”

The host of ‘First Things First‘ blamed the higher authorities for not profitably running the league. He also gave the example of how Larry Tanenbaum bought Toronto’s unnamed team for just $50 million. According to the sportscaster, it should have been valued at a lot more.

Certainly, with the growing league, the overall payments to the players will also be enhanced. Whether you want to give the entire credit to Caitlin Clark or not, many agree with her influence. Only time will tell how the WNBA decides to use its resources for further growth. Probably, the expansion of the league just might take part in it all.

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.