WNBA Fans Blast National Columnist for Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese Co-Rookie of the Year Take

There are few arguments in professional sports more polarizing than who should win WNBA Rookie of the Year honors between Indiana Fever point guard Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky, but at least one national columnist is aiming for middle ground. Jim Trotter of The Athletic made the case on Wednesday, September 4, that the two rookie stars should share the award. His argument was less about play on the court, which has been stellar from both women pretty much all year long, and more about the joint impact Clark and Reese have had on the sport and women’s athletics in general in such a short time. What I’m about to say will never happen, and I’m equally aware it would be wildly unpopular on the fringes of Caitlin Clark’s and Angel Reese’s fan bases, where rational discussion goes to die and a compliment of one player is viewed as a criticism of the other. But, what the heck. Let’s do it anyway. For me, this season’s Rookie of the Year award should be shared by Clark and Reese, not only for their performances on the court, where each has done things never before seen in the league’s nearly three-decade history, but also for their impact off it. The two have been like neodymium magnets, attracting viewers and generating revenue at a dizzying rate. Trotter’s point can’t be argued. He acknowledges that the league’s popularity was trending up before the Clark/Reese phenomenon bled over from the NCAA into the professional ranks. But after their arrival, the WNBA has exploded. The new television deal with Amazon Prime, Disney and NBCUniversal is worth approximately $2.2 billion over the next 11 years, an increase of roughly four-times over the previous agreement. It could balloon to $3 billion based on future incorporation of new partners, per ESPN. In-person attendance is also at an all-time high across the league, while the Fever have sold out the vast majority of their games both at home and on the road during Clark’s rookie campaign.

But despite these realities, a huge subset of fans of the sport, the WNBA, Clark and Reese don’t want to sing Kumbaya and celebrate both women equally, which was clear in the comments section of Trotter’s X post Wednesday, in which he initially shared the link to his column.

“Caitlin Clark is sooooo much better,” X user Chamber wrote. “LeBron and Darko should have shared the ROY.” And that was only the beginning. “If that were to happen, Angel Reese would knock Caitlin Clark off that stage!” Abel in Vegas posted. Some responders went on to accuse Trotter of things far worse than trying to make a thought-provoking argument. “Embarrassing. Truly, mind-boggling and incredibly SEXIST,” TAH chimed in. “Imagine writing this article about a men’s game? You can’t, because you would never. GTFO of women’s sports. This is just trolling at this point…” Meanwhile, others assumed the more traditional stance that awards such as Rookie of the Year shouldn’t involve anything except what happens on the court. “Even if I buy the case that their impact on the league off the court should factor in just as much as their on-court performance, the article itself points out that in both aspects, CC is 1, Angel is 2 … why can’t #1 just be #1?” Mister Miracle posited. The WNBA recently issued ballots to 68 media writers who have approximately one week left to make their decisions on the defining honors of the 2024 season, including a call between Clark and Reese for ROY.