Nancy Armour calls out ‘catfighting’ narrative around Caitlin Clark and WNBA players

Caitlin Clark's arrival in the WNBA a year ago brought significant new attention to the league, but also led to several persistent narratives. Alongside an influx of new fans and self-proclaimed experts offering opinions on how the league should utilize Clark, storylines emerged framing her experience as "Caitlin Clark vs. the WNBA." This narrative often portrays other players as jealous, petty, and targeting Clark, resulting in outsized media coverage of physical or competitive moments that would typically be applauded in men's sports.

This phenomenon isn't limited to newcomers; longtime women's sports media members and announcers have also engaged with these narratives. USA Today columnist Nancy Armour has expressed strong frustration with this trend. She is tired of discussions focusing on why WNBA players "can't just get along" and weary of seeing old, sexist tropes about women persist in coverage surrounding Clark.

Armour rhetorically questioned, "Why the F are we always pitting women against each other?" She pointed out the double standard: rivalries and dislike between players in men's leagues like the NBA or NFL are often celebrated or seen as entertaining, while similar dynamics among women athletes are framed as "catfighting." Armour emphasized that these women are elite, insanely talented, and fiercely competitive athletes, traits inherent to their profession. She criticized the media for manufacturing conflict and undermining their athleticism by perpetuating the tired narrative that women are incapable of anything but fighting each other, asking why their games can't simply be compared and discussed without creating unnecessary drama.

The article concludes by noting that, unfortunately, despite Armour's criticisms, these problematic narratives seem destined to continue for the foreseeable future.