What slowly seemed like an inevitability has finally become reality. After weeks sitting on the sidelines, Caitlin Clark announced on Thursday night that she will not return to the Indiana Fever this season.
Clark has not played since July 15 thanks to a groin injury. After taking the country by storm during her rookie season, Clark’s sophomore campaign in the WNBA has been ravaged by injuries. The former Iowa Hawkeyes sensation only appeared in 13 games this season, averaging 16.5 points and 8.8 assists per game while shooting just 27.9% from three-point range.
But what stood out about Clark’s announcement wasn’t just the content. It was the timing. Her tweet was released almost simultaneously with the beginning of the 2025 NFL season at 8:22 p.m. ET right when the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys kicked off.
There are bad news dumps and there are BAD NEWS DUMPS. It’s a well-worn tactic in any form of communication to try to deliver unfortunate news when people are otherwise occupied. It’s why late Friday afternoons have often become a time where entities decide to release information that may put them in a tough spot.
But timing this announcement for the literal start of the NFL season takes the practice to a different stratosphere. This should be studied for generations. Given the depth of the statement and the accompanying pictures, it’s hard to fathom that this was not planned for this exact night and this exact moment. If it wasn’t, then it’s one of the great kawinkidinks in recorded history.
It will also give added ammunition to the conspiracies that already existed that Clark, the Indiana Fever, and the WNBA have long known that she would not return this season. Skip Bayless already suggested this a few weeks ago, saying all parties involved were holding back on the official announcement so as to not lose fan engagement in the WNBA given Clark’s unique drawing power.
It’s an incredibly difficult spot for Caitlin Clark to be in. She wants to be healthy. So does the Fever, the WNBA, fans, and any stakeholder or fan of women’s basketball. Everyone understands her importance to the sport and hopefully she will return next year better and healthier than ever before.
Whether fair or not, the delivery of Clark’s announcement will only invite more skepticism that this announcement has long been in the works and that the powers that be felt comfortable finally pulling the plug on her season now that the NFL will suck up so much oxygen in the sports world.
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