From the moment she stepped in, Clark became the meal ticket for both the league and its rank and file. She was a star born in college and delivered, gift-wrapped, to a WNBA<\/a> that has been three decades in need of exactly the charisma and duende she carried into the arena. I know she\u2019s not the best player, but she has the \u201cit\u201d factor.<\/p>\n Yet for those of you who follow the narrative of the video clips, the focus repeatedly zeroes in on Clark getting beaten up with fouls, followed by her barking back at officials<\/a>, players, and coaches, and the cacophony, pushing, and brouhaha it triggers. Rather than the gift that keeps on giving, she keeps on getting.<\/p>\n There are times that it feels like I\u2019ve been tossed back to Channel 9 wrestling of the \u201960s. (Haystacks Calhoun with the body slam!) But at least we knew that was all theater and utter buffoonery. A running spoof that took a sport that otherwise would draw only family and friends to a high school or college gym and turned it into entertainment. It was sport viewed through a funhouse mirror. Enough of us liked the look.<\/p>\n It took women\u2019s tennis decades to get where it is today, where Gauff collects a check for $1 million-plus (and Pegula half that) for a tuneup twirl in Cincinnati. If they repeat as finalists at the US Open, the winner will go home with $5.5 million and the loser with $2.8 million. <\/p>\n We\u2019re a long way \u2014 just shy of 53 years \u2014 from Billie Jean King taking on huckster Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes<\/a> at the Astrodome. The women\u2019s game ultimately emerged from the daunting shadow of the men\u2019s side on the backs of champions Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, and others, including the great Serena Williams. They stuck to business, didn\u2019t tear one another down, and now just keep mining gold.<\/p>\n The WNBA should be able to get there, be it on Clark\u2019s back or that of some future phenom capable of mesmerizing crowds, be it with magical ballhandling or monstrous board work or her own brand of burying threes from the merchandise stand. <\/p>\n First it has to realize that beating up on Clark is just beating up on itself. <\/p>\n Gauff, once that young teen befriended by the older Pegula, was in her fourth year on tour when she reached her first major final at the 2022 French Open<\/a>. She won the US Open<\/a> the following year at age 19. Her career prize money now is $35.3 million, about $10 million more than Pegula, the daughter of Terry and Kim Pegula, the Buffalo billionaires who own the NHL Sabres and NFL Bills.<\/p>\n Between the two, Gauff and Pegula have combined to bank $60 million in earnings. They are fierce opponents, but definitely on the same page when it comes to their sport and sportsmanship.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a page the WNBA would find worth reading.<\/p>\n![\"Indiana](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SQ6PCTZ6N44LYSDABSNME7UCCA.jpg\")
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark has been subjected to rough treatment from many players during WNBA games.Michael Conroy\/AP Photo\/Michael Conroy<\/p>\n