The biggest star in the WNBA will not be participating in the league’s All-Star festivities at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, her home arena. Caitlin Clark will sit out with a groin injury.
Clark was billed as the centerpiece of All-Star weekend in Indianapolis, Indiana – host, team captain and a favorite in Friday’s three-point shooting contest. In a statement released Thursday by the Indiana Fever, she said she’ll participate in other ways.
“I am incredibly sad and disappointed to say I can’t participate in the 3-Point Contest or the All-Star Game,” Clark said. “I have to rest my body. I will still be at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for all the action, and I’m looking forward to helping Sandy [Brondello] coach our team to a win.”
Is this her first injury?
Before this season, Clark had never missed a game in her college or pro career. During the preseason, she dealt with two left quad injuries and a left groin strain. Those injuries and the latest setback have affected her play. Clark’s three-point shooting percentage is currently at 28.9, down from 34.4 in her rookie season. Fever teammate and fellow All-Star Aliyah Boston said other players will pick up the slack.
“The biggest thing is, as a player and a competitor, it’s super hard when you have to sit out, and so for us, just making sure that she knows, listen, we got your back no matter what,” Boston said. “I think that’s really all we can do, because as a player, you deal with stuff differently. So, we’re just doing our best to let her know, ‘Listen, we’ve got your back. Take your time, but we got you.'”
How are negotiations going?
Boston and Clark were among more than 40 WNBA players who attended a meeting with league officials Thursday in Indianapolis to discuss negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement. The players’ union opted out of the current agreement last fall, and an Oct. 31 deadline to reach a new deal looms.
The meeting did not go as smoothly as hoped, at least from the players’ perspective.
“The WNBA’s response to our proposals fails to address the priorities we’ve voiced from the day we opted out: a transformational CBA that delivers our rightful share of the business we built, improves working conditions, and ensures the success we create lifts both today’s players and the generations that follow,” the Women’s National Basketball Player’s Association said in a statement.
What is the league’s response?
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the two sides engaged in a “very constructive dialogue,” and she remains optimistic that a deal can be reached, despite reports that the players are preparing for a lockout.
Union president Nneka Ogwumike said Wednesday those rumors didn’t come from the WNBPA.
“These negotiations, as everyone knows, take weeks, months, and that’s why we started so early,” Ogwumike said. “I think the league and the players understand what’s at stake, especially with the growth that we’re experiencing both as players, as teams, organizations, and of course as fans.”
The WNBA enjoyed record attendance and viewership in 2024, and team valuations have skyrocketed. The 13-team league is adding franchises in Portland and Toronto in 2026 and plans to grow to 18 teams by 2030.
That growth – and a $2.2 billion media rights deal that starts next season – were major factors in the players’ decision to opt out of the current bargaining agreement, causing business considerations to loom large over the league’s All-Star event.
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Author: Chris Francis
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