The WNBA, thanks to Caitlin Clark, has seen viewership and a surge in the number of its fans like it has never before. As Clark was recognized as TIME Magazine’s 2024 Athlete of The Year, the Indiana Fever star was criticized for the views she expressed in her interview, and the WNBA along with her. One such critic was finance expert and podcaster Adam Sosnik, who called the WNBA a “zombie” and “lesbian” league.
In one of the recent episodes of the PBD Podcast, where Adam Sosnik is a co-host, the group discussed the topic of Caitlin Clark and her TIME interview magazine. Along with the piece about Clark, Sosnik also touched on the WNBA’s record financially and called the league a “zombie” league for making it this long despite losing money every year.
“Listen to this, audience, at your own risk,” Sosnik said. “The WNBA will never succeed—it’s never going to make money. It is a zombie organization. It does not have mass market appeal or provide value like Amazon and Jeff Bezos did. There’s limited interest—80% of sports fans are men [with] zero interest in the WNBA.”
After that, Sosnilk even added another controversial take on the real state of the WNBA.
“It’s a lesbian league that they’re trying to shove down our throats.”
Sosnik also called out the women’s basketball league for something that did not make sense to him. Despite being transparent in the amount of money they lost for the 2024 season, the league still recognized and even gave awards and accolades to Caitlin Clark.
“They were projected to lose $50 million this year but because of Caitlin Clark and all her great success they only lost $40 million this year,” Sosnik’s analysis went on. “Name me a company that continually loses money, [then says] ‘let’s give her a trophy ‘cuz we only lost $10 million less than we expected.’”
“It’s an absolute joke, it’s absolutely absurd.”
WNBA’s Pay Gap: “It’s Time They Recognize…”
While a lot of people, including players inside the league, have complained about the pay gap between the NBA and the NBA, the truth about it may be more complicated than just deciding to pay its athletes more.
In an interview earlier this year with NBC News, WNBA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson discussed that the NBA has the ball on how to elevate its women players.
“It’s time the NBA recognizes the indispensable role of WNBA players in shaping the league’s future success,” Jackson said. “They must acknowledge that valuing WNBA players and paying million-dollar salaries requires a stronger broadcast deal, one that absolutely necessitates players at the negotiating table to strengthen the business case and drive home their value.”
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
