Mystics Owner Believes Entire WNBA Deserves Time Cover, Not Caitlin Clark
Most within the sports community applauded the fact that Caitlin Clark was named Time Athlete of the Year for 2024.
However, there have also been a vocal minority who've lamented Clark receiving this acclaim.
One example of this was with Washington Mystics co-owner Sheila Johnson, who is the co-founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET) plus a co-owner of the NHL’s Washington Capitals and the NBA’s Washington Wizards. When speaking with CNN Sports on Friday, Johnson asserted Clark should not have received the Time honor alone.
“This year, something clicked with the WNBA and it’s because of the draft of players that came in. It’s not just Caitlin Clark, it’s [Angel] Reese. We have so much talent out there that has been unrecognized. And I don't think we can just pin it on one player,” Johnson said.
When asked about the WNBA's growth this past season being deemed the "Caitlin Clark Effect", Johnson said, "It's just the structure of the way that media plays out race... I've seen so many players of color that are equally as talented, and they never got the recognition that they should have. And I think right now, it is time for that to happen.
"[On Tuesday], you read Time Magazine, where Caitlin Clark was named Athlete of the Year," Johnson continued. "Why couldn't they have put the whole WNBA on that cover and said 'The WNBA is the League of the Year', because of all the talent we have?
“Because when you just keep singling out one player, it creates hard feelings," she added. "We have got to... respect everybody that's playing and their talents."
Johnson did go on to "applaud" Clark for her comments about wanting to use her own privilege to "elevate Black women" on the league (which some haven't received so warmly).
"We have so much talent out there that has been unrecognized, and I don’t think we can pin it on just one player"
— CNN Sports (@cnnsport) December 13, 2024
Washington Mystics co-owner Sheila Johnson speaks to @AmandaDCNN about TIME's decision to name Caitlin Clark "Athlete of the Year": https://t.co/nQL7NXosv7 pic.twitter.com/HjBjf0nlgX
No team benefitted from the "Caitlin Clark Effect" as much as Johnson's Mystics franchise, which is proven by a graphic that was posted on X by @the_realami that shows the difference in fan attendance when each WNBA team is playing the Fever compared to fan attendance when they're playing any other team.
mystics owner really talking that big boy shit like we don’t have the numbers lol pic.twitter.com/t36dRrGwfL
— ami ✰ (@the_realami) December 13, 2024
The Indiana vs. Washington game on September 19 at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., set a WNBA single-game attendance record of 20,711, per the WNBA.
Two other 2024 WNBA regular season games drew a crowd of over 20,000 people; one of which was when the Fever played at Washington on June 7, which drew 20,333 fans. The third game also involved the Fever (July 2 against the Las Vegas Aces in Vegas).
Perhaps Johnson should have checked the receipts before her CNN appearance.
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.