Since Caitlin Clark arrived in the WNBA, some of the league’s fans have tried to defend its history and the greats of its first three decades.
Then there are people like FS1’s Colin Cowherd, who glommed onto WNBA storylines when Clark came in and has his own view of the league.
On the opening day of the 2025 season, Cowherd returned to this debate on his show The Herd.
Speaking for the newcomers to WNBA fandom, Cowherd teased the longer-term fans as “gatekeepers” with a “boring social life” who need to get a grip and let the new fans have their fun.
“In the weird, insular WNBA, this has been a real struggle,” Cowherd said. “You know, the truth.”
“‘Colin, I was watching the WNBA long before Caitlin Clark.’ Well yeah, it’s not my problem your social life was boring.”
Colin Cowherd responds to WNBA ‘gatekeepers’ ahead of opening night: pic.twitter.com/Vtxamscfts
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 16, 2025
Cowherd was breaking down the results of an anonymous survey of WNBA general managers who named Clark the best point guard, shooting guard, and franchise cornerstone in the league. The FS1 host sees this as evidence that the league knows Clark’s value, while the old guard of fans is behind the times.
“There’s these people who are fans of indie bands, international soccer, and the WNBA,” Cowherd said. “They have this gatekeeping mentality. They’ll tell you who’s great. ‘Colin, I was watching the WNBA long before Caitlin Clark.’ Well, yeah, it’s not my problem your social life was boring. I’m not going to apologize for watching it when it got really interesting.”
These tensions would be solved easily if hosts like Colin Cowherd (or Stephen A. Smith or Shannon Sharpe) simply acknowledged the position that WNBA fans were taking. The league is nearly 30 years old, and plenty of evidence suggests it was overlooked and under-resourced for much of its history. Beyond that, the growth curve was starting to point upward in the years leading up to Clark’s arrival.
If Cowherd acknowledged those facts and explained why he is more drawn to Clark than others, these “gatekeepers” would probably leave him alone.
Instead, he is being just as stubborn as the fans whose voice he gleefully imitated in this segment. He clearly believes the trolling makes for better content.
