Mystics co-owner’s viral video snubbing Caitlin Clark’s impact gets slapped with X ‘Community Note’ ft. wild stat

Washington Mystics owner Sheila Johnson disagrees with TIME giving the its “Athlete of the Year” award to Caitlin Clark. [photo: Imagn]

Washington Mystics co-owner Sheila Johnson pushed back against TIME giving Caitlin Clark the ‘Athlete of the Year’ award. According to Johnson, the decision did not recognize other players who were “equally as talented.”

The CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts said in an interview with CNN that the awarding body should have put the whole WNBA on the magazine’s cover.

A basketball fan reacted to Johnson’s comments highlighting the ‘Community Note’ from CNN Sports’ post on X.

“31% of the Mystics total home attendance for the entire 2024 season came from two games versus Caitlin Clark and the Fever,” the note read, citing Ben Golliver’s Washington Post report.

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The note highlighted Caitlin Clark’s impact on crowd attendance during the Mystics’ 2024 season when they faced the Fever. The Mystics’ average attendance at home was 4,998.

When Clark and her teammates visited DC, the Mystics averaged 20,522 fans. The Fever and the Mystics set the WNBA single-game attendance record of 20,711 on Sept. 19 because of Clark.

The numbers proved Caitlin Clark had an impact no other WNBA player came close to achieving. Per the Timeline data, the Indiana Fever’s average attendance in 2023 was 4,066. With Clark on the roster, that figure soared to 17,035, roughly four times better.

The Atlanta Dream, the team with the lowest average home attendance, normed 3,316. The figure rose to 17,592 when they hosted the Indiana Fever. Every WNBA team’s home attendance improved when the former Iowa superstar played.

The TV ratings tell the same story about the impact Clark had in college and the WNBA. In the 2023 finals between Iowa and LSU, Clark and Angel Reese headlined a game that reached a then-record 9.9 million views.

A year later, Clark helped reset the mark with 18.9 million views in the Hawkeyes’ title game against the Gamecocks.

Forbes honored Caitlin Clark less than 24 hours after the TIME Magazine “Athlete of the Year” award

Caitlin Clark received another enviable honor following TIME Magazine’s “Athlete of the Year” award. Forbes included her in its list of “The World’s Most Powerful Women.” She became the first basketball player to make the rankings when she landed at No. 100.

Maggie McGrath, who wrote the Forbes report about why Clark is on the list, said:

“Everyone from Dawn Staley to analysts will say, ‘Caitlin Clark is a lightning rod.”

Clark is the only one on the list under 35 years old. Only time will tell how far she will reach or even more impactful she will become.