Boomer Esiason thinks Caitlin Clark should consider taking her talents elsewhere.
After another night of hard fouls, questionable officiating and growing frustration around how Clark is being treated in the WNBA, the WFAN host and ex-NFL quarterback said Thursday that the Fever star would be justified in looking overseas.
“If I were Caitlin Clark, I would seriously consider going to play overseas somewhere and get royal treatment and get real money,” Esiason said on “Boomer and Gio.”
Co-host Gregg Giannotti asked if Esiason was suggesting Clark should take money from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in something akin to LIV Golf.
“From somewhere,” Esiason said, noting that many WNBA players already supplement their income by playing in other leagues during the offseason.
“I know Caitlin makes a ton of money off the court in terms of endorsements, and rightfully so,” Esiason said. “But I think there is a petty jealousy, and she’s a straight white basketball player. And she is not being treated with any sort of respect whatsoever.”
Esiason’s comments come one day after the Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas landed a fist on Clark’s throat and then stepped over the Fever star without a whistle from the referees during a 111-109 win, adding yet another chippy moment to a young career full of them for the 2024 No. 1 overall pick.
Thomas was assessed a flagrant foul 2 penalty and a one-game suspension, the WNBA announced Thursday.
Fever head coach Stephanie White wasn’t happy about the incident, to say the least.
“It was egregious. The fact that it was a no-call … You got to call it,” White said after the game. “You’re coming in here aware of what happened two nights ago and that s–t still happens? Absolutely unacceptable.”
Just days earlier, Clark had ripped a technical foul call from referee Gerda Gatling as “ridiculous” in her latest spat with WNBA officials.
Despite her outsized popularity, the league left Clark off of its 30th anniversary poster while including current stars like Angel Reese, A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier and Kelsey Plum, among others.
