Key Takeaways
- Dave Portnoy is urging Caitlin Clark to quit the WNBA and start her own league after she received her eighth technical foul, which triggers an automatic one-game suspension under league rules.
- Portnoy, who has repeatedly defended Clark and blasted critics like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as jealous, argues she has the power to “squash this league like a bug” by going independent.
- As debates over Clark’s treatment, physical play, and officiating intensify—with voices like Shaquille O’Neal calling it a superstar rite of passage—Clark herself has shown no interest in leaving the WNBA.
Dave Portnoy thinks Caitlin Clark should stop fighting the WNBA and simply leave it behind.
The Barstool Sports founder called on Clark to launch a league of her own after the Indiana Fever star picked up her eighth technical foul of the season during a win over the Chicago Sky, giving her an automatic one-game suspension.
"Hey @CaitlinClark22 just go start your own league already," Portnoy wrote on X on August 8, before taking a shot at WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert: "Sick league @CathyEngelbert."
Clark's latest technical came after she made contact with an official during Indiana's victory over Chicago. Clark maintained afterward that the collision wasn't deliberate and said she hoped the league would overturn the call — which it did later that night.
"She said I ran into her … it wasn't intentional or anything, so I'm hoping it's getting rescinded," Clark said.
There was plenty riding on that review. Had the technical stood, Clark would have received an automatic one-game suspension and missed Indiana’s upcoming matchup against the New York Liberty. Instead, the league rescinded the call, clearing her to play Tuesday. She finished the Chicago game with 26 points and 11 assists.
Portnoy's reaction didn't materialize out of nowhere. He has spent much of the season defending Clark as arguments surrounding her treatment have moved far beyond routine basketball discourse.
"Let's keep in mind Caitlin didn't ask for this," Portnoy wrote at the time. "She's never said she was the face of the league. She's always showed respect for those who came before her."
He went even further then, making essentially the same suggestion he is now encouraging Clark to carry out: "She could squash this league like a bug if she started her own league."
Clark, however, has given no indication that she plans to create a league of her own.
Her June 24 confrontation with Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas became a national controversy after Thomas made contact with Clark's throat during a scramble. Officials initially called nothing, but the WNBA later upgraded the play to a Flagrant 2 and suspended Thomas for one game.
Shaquille O'Neal offered a very different solution. Rather than demanding additional protection for Clark, he recently characterized the physical treatment as a superstar "rite of passage."
"She needs to toughen up, take those licks, and show them that, 'These licks don't bother me,'" O'Neal told CNBC Sport.
