‘Incredibly sad': Caitlin Clark pulls out of WNBA All-Star Game with injury
Fever guard Caitlin Clark, who missed Wednesday's game in Brooklyn with a groin injury, announced Thursday that she would be pulling out of the 3-point contest and Saturday's game.
'I am incredibly sad and disappointed to say I can't participate in the 3-point contest or the All-Star Game. I have to rest my body,' Clark said in a statement.
'I will still be at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for all the action, and I'm looking forward to helping [Liberty coach] Sandy [Brondello] coach our team to a win.'
Mystics guard Brittney Sykes was tabbed by commissioner Cathy Engelbert to be Clark's replacement, the NY Post reports.
But there's no doubt Clark being sidelined will cast a shadow larger than her massive banner hanging on the side of the J.W. Marriott in town.
Clark, the reigning Rookie of the Year, arguably is the biggest name in women's basketball and possibly the biggest basketball player in Indianapolis (sorry, Tyrese Haliburton).
Clark is averaging a modest 16.2 points, 8.8 assists and five rebounds in 13 games this season.
Her shooting splits of 36.7/27.9/82 are noticeably down from a season ago, though she's been hampered by lower-body injuries.
Clark isn't the only player who's missing this weekend's action.
Mercury forward Satou Sabally (ankle) and Dream guard Rhyne Howard (knee) also are out with injuries. Dream forward Brionna Jones and Lynx guard Kayla McBride will fill their roster spots.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
7NEWS
2 hours ago
- 7NEWS
WNBA stars unite in powerful six-word statement over CBA ahead of All-Stars clash
The WNBA All-Stars wanted to send a clear message to the league on the game's brightest stage. All players on Team Clark and Team Collier warmed up for Saturday night's WNBA All-Star Game in shirts that read 'Pay us what you owe us.' 'We get a very tiny percentage of all the money that's made through the WNBA, which obviously is made through the entertainment we provide,' Napheesa Collier said on the decision to wear the shirts. 'So we want a fair and reasonable percentage of that.' The idea was hatched Saturday morning at a players meeting. The demonstration comes after the players and the league failed to reach a new collective bargaining agreement at an in-person meeting Thursday. The league's players opted out of their last CBA in October, and are looking for a better revenue-sharing model, increased salaries, improved benefits and a softer salary cap. After the failed negotiations, many players said there was a large discrepancy between what they wanted and what the league was offering. If a new CBA is not reached by October some players, including All-Stars Collier and Angel Reese, have mentioned the potential of a walkout. At the end of the game, chants of 'Pay them!' broke out in the arena. Some fans held signs that read 'Pay the players,' during the game. 'We had no idea that they were in solidarity with our demonstration,' said Nneka Ogwumike, president of the WNBPA. 'I've been hearing it all weekend at the fan events, supporting us and wanting us to get our fair share of the value.' This was potentially the last time that so many players would be together in one place before the season ends — a fact not lost on the union leadership. 'This is a perfect opportunity to raise awareness for what we're doing and do it together,' Collier said. The players aren't decided whether they'll wear the shirts on their own teams over the course of the second half of the season which begins Tuesday. They hope that fans will wear them as the union announced on social media during the game that the shirts were on sale. Ogwumike was unaware that the shirts were already on sale. 'You put it out there, and you stand on business,' Courtney Williams said about the shirts. 'And we're standing on business.'
News.com.au
5 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘Pay us what you owe us': America divided by WNBA T-shirt stunt
WNBA stars have sparked widespread divide by wearing T-shirts with 'pay us what you owe us' emblazed on the front. The blunt message was delivered during warm ups ahead of the WNBA All Star Game on Sunday amid ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations between the players and the league. With a late October deadline looming, the players' stance is clear … they want a bigger piece of the pie. It's not the first time WNBA players have demanded more pay, with the talking point rearing its head every year. The latest act however comes off the back of the league agreeing to an 11-year, $AUD3.38 billion TV rights deal with Disney, Amazon Prime Video and NBCUniversal that will come into play from 2026. The WNBA is booming with TV ratings (up 23%), ticket sales (up 26%) and attendance (13%) all surging halfway through the season, according to NPR. But the simple act of wearing a T-shirts demanding to be paid more sparked widespread divide with many believing the players are deserving of greater pay, while countless others pointed to the league's struggling finances which have seen the WNBA never make a profit. What is the WNBA's revenue? That's the big talking point behind all of the ongoing CBA negotiations, the WNBA players are chasing a large share of the league's revenue. Under the current CBA, the players split 9.3 per cent of league revenue. A figure far lesser than the NBA which sees players split between 49 and 51 per cent. The league currently operates off a revenue of $200m, but as is often pointed out when these discussions come to the table … the WNBA has yet to turn a profit since its inception in 1996. The NBA owns nearly 60 per cent of the league with team owners investing millions every year to the WNBA. Despite the recent uptick, the 2024 WNBA season saw the league lose $40 million. The new TV rights deal will inject $200m annually into the league, compared to the current deal which injects roughly $45m per season. With that deal set to come into play from 2026 onwards, WNBA players could soon see their salaries rise and the league turn a profit for the first time. What is the difference in WNBA and NBA salaries? According to Sports Illustrated, WNBA salaries roughly range from a minimum of $USD66,000 to a super maximum contract of around $USD250,000. Despite being the face of the league, Caitlin Clark remains on a rookie contract which will see her earn $78,000 in 2025. Compare those figures to the NBA and the difference is eye-watering. The average NBA salary for the 2024-25 season was projected to be $11,910,649, according to SI. The minimum salary came in at $1,157,153 while the highest-paid player, Stephen Curry, earned a staggering $55.7 million. America divided by players calling for more pay You can almost guarantee that anytime a WNBA player speaks out about wanting to be paid more, social media will be flooded with vitriol It kicked into overdrive on Sunday as images of the players wearing the shirts began to spread across the internet. End Wokeness wrote on X: 'The WNBA loses $50 million every year and has NEVER generated a profit. You deserve $0.00.' Jake Crain added: 'There is no league as tone deaf as the WNBA. 'Pay us what you owe us' shirts when you have to be subsidised is wild.' Fox Sports Radio host Aaron Torres wrote: 'There is no group of more delusional people on planet Earth, than WNBA players.' Of course not everyone was on the side of the corporation with a plethora of fans backing the players in chasing what they're worth. WTH News wrote: 'They're not asking for NBA bags, just their damn slice of the pie. Talent's on the court, money's on the table — time to match the energy. You don't build a league on players and leave them crumbs.' NBA and WNBA beat reporter Andrew Dukowitz wrote: 'The league is built on players, they deserve to get a bigger slice of the pie for the work they all have put in, and as the revenue grows, they should as well. The WNBA players are not asking to be paid dollar for dollar what the NBA players make, from what I understand they just want a fair share of the revenue.' Barstool Sports' Dave Portnoy took his outrage even further, savaging people who don't believe the WNBA players don't deserve a bigger slice. 'I don't know how anybody in the world with a brain, and maybe my brain is just bigger than most, can rationally say women don't deserve more money at this point,' Portnoy said in a video posted to social media. 'Franchise values are exploding. Ticket sales, merch, TV rights all exploding. The players have an opt out in their CBA. Of course they took it. It's all about leverage in re-negotiations and for the 1st time in history of the league players have power. 'The players make virtually nothing while the entire league explodes. Of course they deserve more money.' What will it mean if no agreement is reached? With the first round of talks going almost nowhere, the threat of a potential player lockout remains real. The players union has said it's preparing for a work stoppage when the current CBA expires Oct. 31. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said she has 'confidence' a deal can be struck before the Halloween deadline, but also said she's 'not going to put an exact date on it. 'We're in a good place and we're going back and forth,' she said. If no agreement is reached, the players will effectively not turn up to work until a deal is struck which could then have an impact on the upcoming expansion drafts in December. Free agency, which usually starts in late January, and potentially the April draft would also be on hold as long as a deal remains unfinalised.
ABC News
5 hours ago
- ABC News
Venus Williams to play Washington's DC Open, her first tournament in more than a year
Venus Williams is back on the tennis scene, ready to compete for the first time in more than a year at the DC Open. And she has teased to the media she would love it if her sister Serena Williams came back too. "I keep saying to my team: The only thing that would make this better is if she was here," Venus said when asked about a recent video on social media that showed Serena swinging a racquet. "Like, we always did everything together, so of course I miss her. "But if she comes back, I'm sure she'll let y'all know." Serena, 43, hasn't played since the 2022 US Open, when she declared she was "evolving" away from the sport she dominated for stretches on the way to 23 grand slam singles titles and an additional 14 in doubles with Venus. "I don't know what she's going to do. I don't ask those questions," Venus said a day before the start of the hard court tournament in Washington. "I think we always hit the ball, because that's who we are. We're always hitting." She said Serena showed up at a recent practice session and joined in for about 15 or 20 minutes. "She can take six months off and she clocks it clean," Venus said. "You can't teach that kind of talent. She's just so good." They both were the best around at one point. Both reached number one in the rankings. Venus, who turned 45 last month, won seven major singles championships, two at the US Open and five at Wimbledon. Her last tournament was in March 2024 at the Miami Open, where she exited in the first round. It's been so long that the official WTA Tour website lists her as "inactive". Williams is drawn to meet fellow American Peyton Stearns in the round of 32 on Wednesday (Australian time). "This is very special for me to come back and play tennis," Venus said. "I think it's a surprise for the fans — and a surprise in general, as I hold my cards tight." It came as a bit of a shock to the tennis world when her appearance in Washington via a wild card invitation was announced a week ago. Do you have a story idea about women in sport? Email us abcsport5050@ Her team had reached out to DC Open chairman Mark Ein via text in April to gauge whether he would be open to having Venus at an event she last entered in 2022. He said he needed two seconds to reply: "Of course." "She's such an icon of the sport — and, importantly, both on and off the court," Ein said in an interview. "So anytime you can have her engaged and have the spotlight on her and everything she's done and continues to do, it's hugely positive." What did she miss the most while away from the tour? "All the times that I had and, of course, the adrenaline, all those things," Venus said. "Just the pure fun of playing the game, the fun of the challenge, overcoming. When you play, you overcome so many challenges: your opponents, the conditions. A lot of times you have to overcome yourself. Those things are very exciting." When asked why she's getting back on court, Venus offered a simple response: "Why not?" As for whether this is a one-stop tour or she plans to play elsewhere, she wasn't prepared to say much. "I'm just here for now, and who knows?" Venus said. "Maybe there's more. … But at the moment, I'm focused just on this. I haven't played in a year. There is no doubt I can play tennis, but obviously coming back to play matches, it takes time to get in the swing of things. "I definitely feel I'll play well. I'm still the same player. I'm a big hitter. I hit big. This is my brand." AP
