‘Caitlin Clark effect’ comes to D.C. as Mystics host Fever at Capital One Arena

The stands are packed, the TV ratings are through the roof, and fans and pundits are obsessively dissecting the latest action on the airwaves and over social media. And no, it’s not the NFL.  

Welcome to the Caitlin Clark era of the WNBA, in which a league that for years struggled for relevancy is suddenly at the center of tough national conversations on race, gender and bias.

Clark, the superstar rookie who joined the WNBA this spring with other high-profile newcomers like Angel Reese and Aaliyah Edwards, makes her first appearance as a pro in the District on Friday as the Washington Mystics host the Indiana Fever at Capital One Arena.

In the first month of her WNBA career, Clark is drawing record crowds and stirring controversy as the league adapts to unprecedented attention.

With a game at Capital One Arena, the Mystics will be the latest team to benefit from a Clark visit — the Fever lead the league in attendance for their away games this season, averaging 15,315 fans on the road.

The Los Angeles Sparks welcomed 19,103 fans when the Fever came to town on May 24, the highest-attended game in the league this season. Across the country, the New York Liberty earned a WNBA record $2 million in ticket revenue during Clark’s first trip to the Barclays Center.

Fans who can’t make it to games have tuned in on TV — the league has attracted more than 1 million viewers for five different broadcasts this season. Before Clark arrived, the WNBA hadn’t drawn an audience that large in 16 years.

Despite dropping their first nine games and losing veterans Natasha Cloud and Elena Delle Donne in the offseason, Mystics executives said they’ve also had remarkable interest from fans this year.

“We’re just really excited about the enthusiasm that we’re seeing for the WNBA and for the Mystics,” Alycen McAuley, the Mystics chief business officer, told WTOP. “Demand for our season is at an all-time high.”

The hunger for tickets has been so great that the team moved Friday’s game against the Fever from the 4,200-seat Entertainment and Sports Arena in Southeast to the 20,000-seat Capital One Arena, home of the Wizards and Capitals.

The organization has attributed the increased interest to this year’s impressive rookie class, which includes Clark, the Chicago Sky’s Reese and the Mystics’ own Edwards.

Rough start for rookies

Those rookies have had varying degrees of success to start their careers. But Clark, who broke the NCAA all-time scoring record at Iowa, has attracted the most scrutiny for her struggles.

The counting stats are promising for the 22-year-old, as she’s averaged 15.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game. But her efficiency has plummeted. The Iowa product leads the league with 5.4 turnovers per game while shooting just 35.7% from the field.

The slow start doesn’t surprise WNBA veterans who have emphasized that, despite her collegiate accolades, Clark is only human.

“Reality is coming,” Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi said about Clark in April. “There’s levels to this thing. And that’s just life. We all went through it.”

Clark’s welcome to the WNBA has been rocky.

She has been on the receiving end of some hard fouls, including a hotly debated hit last week against the Veteran Chicago Sky. Chicago guard Chennedy Carter knocked the rookie to the ground during an in-bounds play, eliciting a foul that was later upgraded to a flagrant-1.

“I think everybody is physical with me, they get away with things that probably other people don’t get away with. It’s tough, but that’s just the fact of the matter,” Clark said.

The Carter foul has been watched, commented on and debated over and over on the web — then on Wednesday team security had to step between Carter and an aggressive heckler.

Adjusting to the physicality of the pro game is tough for every rookie, but the level of punishment being directed at Clark has some commentators, especially on the political right, wondering if the young woman —who is straight, White and Catholic — is being unfairly targeted in a league dominated by gay Black women.

Players within the league have treated the No. 1 pick like just another rookie.

“All rookies, especially number one picks, have been tested mentally, physically, and emotionally …” former WNBA player Chiney Ogwumike said on ESPN. “This is not hate; this is hoops.”

Black and White, man and women

Commentators like Charles Barkley have come to Clark’s defense, urging WNBA players to be grateful for the media darling. They say her star power has brought more fans and amenities, like a charter flight program that began this year.

“Y’all should be thanking that girl for getting y’all a– private charters,” Barkley said last month on “Inside the NBA.” “All the money and visibility she’s bringing to the WNBA, what she’s accomplished, give her her flowers.”

Former NBA player Austin Rivers put it more bluntly.

“If you girls were Destiny’s Child, she would be Beyonce. … She is the main attraction,” Rivers said on X. “There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about that.”

On ESPN’s “First Take,” Monica McNutt questioned why interest in the league is only exploding now. After all, there have been lauded rookies before.

Players like A’ja Wilson, Sue Bird and Sabrina Ionescu were considered top-tier talents, but they didn’t usher in a new era for women’s basketball.

The Atlantic’s Jemele Hill says Clark is more palatable for a general audience.

“We would all be very naive if we didn’t say race and her sexuality played a role in her popularity,” the former ESPN anchor told the Los Angeles Times. “While so many people are happy for Caitlin’s success — including the players; this has had such an enormous impact on the game — there is a part of it that is a little problematic because of what it says about the worth and the marketability of the players who are already there.”

Clark’s biggest rival from her college years, Reese, has her own ideas about the rise in interest in women’s basketball.

The Baltimore native, who is Black, says fans appreciate the rivalry between her and Clark and that she accepts her role as the “bad guy.”

“Negative things have probably been said about me but honestly, I’ll take that. Because look where women’s basketball is. … The reason why we’re watching women’s basketball is not just because of one person,” the Maryland native told reporters on Monday. “It’s because of me, too. I want y’all to realize that.”

The Mystics seem to agree. The team moved Thursday’s game against Reese and the Sky to Capital One Arena to accommodate more fans.

“It means a lot to the women’s game in general …” Mystics forward Emily Engstler said Thursday about the increased attention. “I think we’re excited for [Reese and Clark] in this league in general. The fact that they’re bringing the fans and us being allowed to play in [Capital One] Arena.”

The Mystics will return to the larger arena again on July 16 when the Mercury come to town.