Dan Patrick Implores WNBA to 'Take a Victory Lap' Over Caitlin Clark
Per usual, Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark has been the talk of the women's basketball world over the past week.
This largely stems from Clark being named the Time Athlete of the Year for 2024, which made her the first women's basketball player to earn this acclaim. However, not all within this community were content with this honor; which was made apparent by comments from Washington Mystics co-owner Sheila Johnson.
The most recent person to call Johnson out for her comments is popular sportscaster Dan Patrick, who made his take clear during a December 17 episode of "The Dan Patrick Show".
"Can't we just acknowledge Caitlin Clark changed the WNBA?" Patrick said. "That's it. It's okay... It's a win! This is a unique moment. Caitlin Clark did for the WNBA what Wayne Gretzky did for the NHL when he went to the LA Kings.
"It's okay! Take a victory lap," Patrick continued. "Caitlin Clark changed the WNBA. It's okay! It's okay to say that. You're not diminishing what the founding fathers of the WNBA did... She's the Time Person of the Year."
To be clear, Clark was not named the Time Person of the Year for 2024. That distinction was given to US President-elect Donald Trump. Clark was named Time Athlete of the Year for 2024.
"The league won!" Patrick continued. "But every time we think there's a win, there's somebody who brings something else up. And it's unfortunate... Stop making excuses for Caitlin Clark's greatness. She did something different than anybody else in the history of the WNBA with the way she plays."
"Can we just acknowledge Caitlin Clark changed the WNBA?... This is a unique moment. Caitlin Clark did for the WNBA what Wayne Gretzky did for the NHL when he went to the LA Kings. It's ok! Take a victory lap... You're not diminishing what anyone else did... The league won!" pic.twitter.com/fRhm9qavtx
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) December 17, 2024
Count Patrick as another person who's giving Caitlin Clark her flowers while also calling out those who refuse to.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.