Every so often a sports commentator says something so breathtakingly detached from reality that you wonder if he's secretly trying to qualify for The Babylon Bee.
This week, Emmanuel Acho declared that the WNBA would be better off without Caitlin Clark.
There are hot takes.
There are bad takes.
And then there are takes so spectacularly misguided they deserve to be framed and hung in the Smithsonian next to the Hindenburg. That's what Mr. Acho has delivered to us here.
Yes, sports television rewards bold opinions. But it should probably draw the line somewhere before: The WNBA would be better off without the only player who made half the country start watching the WNBA.
That's roughly equivalent to saying:
The NBA would've been better off without Michael Jordan.
The PGA Tour would've been better off without Tiger Woods.
The NFL would be stronger without Patrick Mahomes.
Apple should finally move on from the iPhone.
More than a few people noticed:
At this point I'm convinced these commentators get paid to make dumb takes like this, so we all talk about how dumb they are. But part of me thinks this guy is being serious.
Since Clark entered the league, the WNBA has experienced unprecedented television ratings, soaring attendance, record merchandise sales, and a level of cultural relevance it had never before enjoyed. Teams routinely move Indiana Fever games to NBA arenas because their own buildings can't accommodate the crowds that want to see her play. Entire television schedules have been rearranged around her games because networks know she'll draw an audience.
That's why what Acho has done here is far more than a hot take. It's a claim that requires ignoring virtually every measurable indicator of the league's recent success. When the biggest draw in your sport is filling arenas, selling jerseys, boosting television ratings, and introducing millions of new fans to your product, the logical response isn't to wish she would go away.
It's to thank God that she showed up in the first place.
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