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Sports Writer With Seeming Caitlin Clark Obsession Asserts WNBA Doesn't Need Her

A Minnesota-based sports writer's strange ways of covering Caitlin Clark have come to light on social media.

Grant Young

Sep 15, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) throws her hands up to the referee at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Grace Hollars/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images
Sep 15, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) throws her hands up to the referee at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Grace Hollars/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images / Grace Hollars/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

The ongoing WNBA Finals between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx has been one of the most thrilling sports championship series in recent memory, regardless of the sport.

However, Minnesota-based sports writer Patrick Reusse appears to be trying to make this fantastic Finals series about Indiana Fever icon Caitlin Clark — while also declaring that the league doesn't need her.

On Friday evening, Reusse (who writes for the Minnesota Star Tribune) wrote an article titled, "These are an unforgettable WNBA Finals, and we didn’t need Caitlin Clark".

The subheading read, "The Lynx and New York Liberty showed Friday, and have shown all series, that this new era for the WNBA is not about a single player."

In the article, Reusse wrote, "Clark put more eyes on the league, for sure, but she didn't belong on the Olympic team, and also could have been missing from the All-WNBA team announced this week if receiving as much attention for her record-breaking turnovers as she did for points and assists."

He then goes on to call himself a Clark "booster," which is a strange way of terming the way he has covered Clark in the past.

Since the article was published, fans have been pulling up some of Reusse's past posts about Clark that make his words even weirder.

Back in February, Reusse wrote on X, "Caitlin Clark in State Farm ad. Every time I see this nat’l phenom it amazes me that I discovered her.

"I mean, I watched her for 10 minutes on TV, got in the Buick & drove to Des Moines & Iowa City to unearth this story.
"I’m not a braggart, but I am clairvoyant."

Two weeks later he added, "Quite a coincidence that I basically discovered Caitlin Clark & now she set all-time scoring record inside a sold-out Barn right here in Minneapolis."

He tripled down on this self-aggrandizing sentiment in May by saying, "I can’t help but continue to wonder if this phenomenon of American sports interest ever would’ve happened if I hadn’t discovered Caitlin in early February 2022."

He also stepped on Clark's phone after a Fever-Lynx game earlier this year.

When another X user commented, "She should be honored to have the one who discovered her step on her phone.", Reusse responded by saying, "That's what I'm talking about."

Reusse has since noted that all of these claims are satirical. Regardless, for someone who claims the WNBA doesn't need Caitlin Clark, Reusse seems keen to cover her.

Published |Modified
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

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.

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