Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 29, 2014; New York, NY, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver addresses the media regarding the investigation involving Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling (not pictured) at New York Hilton Midtown.
If you want a job done right, sometimes you just need to do it yourself, and that appears to be the stance that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is taking regarding all the controversy surrounding WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark.
The NBA holds a 42 percent ownership stake in the WNBA, making the success of the WNBA extremely important to the NBA and its respective team owners.
However, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has been under fire of late for dodging difficult questions surrounding Clark and the numerous controversies involving the Indiana Fever star in just three seasons in the league.
In fact, it was reportedly Silver, not Engelbert, who stepped in to make sure Engelbert suspended Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas for her punch to the throat of Clark last month.
Now, while Engelbert remains mum on the matter, Silver is speaking up.
Adam Silver Sends Clear Message Regarding Politicization Of Caitlin Clark
In a recent conversation with Andrew Ross Sorkin at the Game Plan Summit, Silver noted that Clark has been used as a poltical pawn by numerous bad-faith actors on both sides to try to get their messages across, and he believes that it’s unfair.
“I have come to know Caitlin really well,” Silver said. “She’s an incredible player and also an incredible person. And she wants to focus on being the best player she can. She has become a bit of a political football in this country, and I think it’s incredibly unfair to her. I don’t think that issue is ultimately about officiating. It’s become political ping-pong with her. And she’s a young woman who’s trying to improve her game.”
Silver went on to discuss how things like the Thomas foul become blown out of proportion due to the political undertones surrounding Clark at all times.
“I don’t even think it’s fair to her that this has become a separate storyline about one foul,” he said. “Do we need to improve WNBA officiating? No doubt about it.”
Silver hits the nail on the head. Every instance involving Clark becomes far larger than it needs to be because people want to turn it into a political battle.
The best thing for the WNBA would be to get the focus back on basketball. But it’s harder to do that when Engelbert seemingly refuses to speak out.