With the WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday in Indianapolis, USA Today sports columnist and best-selling author Christine Brennan discussed her new book “On Her Game” Thursday at Morgenstern Books in Bloomington.
Released last week and currently No. 2 on the New York Times Best Seller list, “On Her Game” is about Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever making history not only in women sports, but in the sports world overall.
Brennan was first introduced to Clark on Feb. 26, 2023, while watching the Indiana-Iowa women’s basketball game from her kitchen. Brennan wasn’t watching the game for Clark. She watched in support of family members who are IU alumni.
With 1.5 seconds left, Clark made a three-point shot off-balance with her left leg askew, winning the game for Iowa.
“It allowed me to kind of think about it and realize that there was something really special about this person, and what you see her produce on a basketball court, that was so unlike like anything I'd seen in a women's basketball player, and I've covered the women's game for years,” Brennan said.
The NCAA women’s championship game in 2024 — with Clark and Iowa losing to South Carolina — had four million more viewers than the NCAA men’s championship.
“The men were Monday night prime time, and the women still had 4 million more viewers than the men,” Brennan said. “That's extraordinary. You believe I just said that sentence, right? And the superlatives continued.”
Brennan continued to watch Clark’s transformational impact on the WNBA.
Brennan believes the WNBA failed to prepare its players for Clark’s impact, and that spawned jealously and lack of respect on and off the court.
For example, there is a chapter in her book called “Hip Check.” It addresses when Clark got hip-checked by Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter during a game June 1, 2024. How Clark was being treated was called into question when initially Carter was called for a common foul. It was later upgraded to a Flagrant 1 foul.
There is also a chapter in her book called “Olympic Snub” about Clark being left off last year’s U.S. team. Brennan said the women’s basketball team had its worst television ratings since 2008 and there was poor attendance.
Brennan covered Indiana Fever games, practices and interviewed Clark and the people around her. Brennan said Clark answered every question thoughtfully.
“She was just such a mature person,” Brennan said. “So anything, everything, all the racial issue questions that came to her, the way she handled those … as I say in the book, she's 22 going on 40 or 50.”
Clark is injured and will not be playing in Saturday’s All-Star Game. Brennan expects the television ratings to drop. She said when Clark disappears, so does the television audience.
