Caitlin Clark is one of the most exciting basketball players I’ve ever seen. Like Pete Maravich, a captivating NBA player years ago, Clark is almost impossible to take your eyes off when she’s on the court. An exceptional shooter, passer, dribbler, and competitor, Clark has been the best thing ever to happen to women’s basketball. Since she joined the Indiana Fever of the Women’s National Basketball Association, attendance records have been broken, television viewership has skyrocketed, and interest on social media has gone through the roof.
Every player, coach, and official in the league has benefited from the attention Caitlin Clark has brought. WNBA players’ travel has been upgraded, name recognition has surged, and the league’s financial prospects have improved. You would think everyone associated with the WNBA would be singing Clark’s praises and expressing sincere gratitude for how the entire league has profited from her presence.
But not so. Caitlin Clark appears to be widely resented. Even though there is little evidence of arrogance, she has been subjected to rough play on the court, and some of the contact has appeared reckless enough to risk serious injury.
The hostility is not limited to Clark. In Saturday’s game between Indiana and Chicago, DiJonai Carrington committed such a hard foul against Sophie Cunningham that officials upgraded it to a Flagrant 2 and ejected Carrington. After the ejection, Carrington posted the words “WHITE PRIVILEGE” on social media. Instead of discussing whether the foul was excessive, the controversy immediately became racial and political.
Many women’s professional sports leagues have struggled with revenue and ratings over the years. Given those challenges, why does the WNBA seem to struggle internally and fight among its own members?
This perplexing topic has been addressed recently by a plethora of sportswriters and cultural commentators because the conflict seems so senseless. Some blame race. Others blame politics, personality, competition, or resentment over Clark’s popularity. However, few pundits have addressed the real source of the problem—SIN.
The Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). The human heart is innately corrupt because we have all inherited the sin nature of Adam. Sin causes people to do unreasonable things—things that are sometimes “beyond understanding”—and in the end leads to death.
The sin of envy. It is difficult to observe the response to Caitlin Clark’s popularity, wealth, and unusual ability without concluding envy is part of the problem. Rather than rejoicing that her exceptional gifts have benefited everyone, some seem to resent the attention she receives. “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones” (Proverbs 14:30).
The sin of racial discrimination. Every person of every race is created in God’s image and possesses equal worth before Him. Yet Carrington’s immediate accusation of “white privilege” demonstrates how quickly racial suspicion can replace fair judgment. The Bible warns, “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” (Hebrews 12:15).
The sin of homosexual activity. The WNBA proudly promotes LGBTQ celebrations and regularly highlights LGBTQ representation among its players. That does not prove that sexual orientation explains anyone’s treatment of Caitlin Clark. It does, however, demonstrate how prominently the league has embraced a view of sexuality that contradicts biblical teaching. The Bible says, “God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones” (Romans 1:26).
The sin of rebellion against God’s creation. Women’s sports depend for their very existence on the recognition that men and women are not physically interchangeable. Yet the wider culture increasingly pressures institutions to treat biological sex as secondary to a person’s chosen gender identity. The attempt to erase the biological distinction between men and women, if carried to its logical conclusion, could eventually mean the end of women’s sports. “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).
Ever since the Garden of Eden, Satan has tempted humanity with the question, “Did God really say?” Today, a growing number of cultural leaders chafe against God’s created order. If a biological man claims to have transitioned into a woman and wants to participate in women’s sports, some insist he should be permitted to do so—even at the expense of females being excluded.
The WNBA’s own collective bargaining agreement states that “only players who are women are eligible to play,” but it does not define the term “women.” That ambiguity exposes the contradiction. If biological sex were irrelevant, there would be no logical reason for a separate women’s league. That would be the antithesis of the purpose of women’s sports! The Bible says, “Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22).
Jesus warned, “Satan comes to kill, steal and destroy.” (John 10:10) Sin distorts equality, resents exceptional ability, divides people into competing groups, and rejects the distinctions God has created. Instead of being grateful for another person’s gifts, we become envious. Instead of judging people fairly, we judge them according to race, politics, sexuality, or social identity. Instead of submitting to God’s design, we attempt to redefine it.
Jesus warned, “…unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Luke 13:3). There is only one cure for sin—a genuine repentance and humble submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The WNBA’s problems will not ultimately be solved by tougher officiating, improved public relations, or increased revenue. Like every human institution, it risks self-destruction when sin is permitted to govern the heart. What is needed is spiritual revival followed by a return to biblical truth and common sense. The good news of the Gospel is that when we confess our sin and turn to Christ for salvation, He cleanses our hearts and renews our minds.
On an infinitely greater level, the envy surrounding Caitlin Clark reminds us of the hostility directed toward Jesus, who was “despised and rejected by mankind” (Isaiah 53:3). The religious leaders should have welcomed Him because He came that they might “have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). But the influencers of that day were so jealous of Jesus’ popularity, so convicted by His purity, and so bitter about His indictment of their sin that they regarded Him as an enemy and plotted to destroy Him. Matthew tells us plainly that Jesus was handed over “out of envy” (Matthew 27:18). Their thinking was so distorted that they, with the help of wicked men, crucified the Lord of glory.
But what they meant for evil, God turned into good. God laid upon the crucified Christ the iniquity of us all, and Jesus paid the ransom for our sin. Now, by His blood, we can be forgiven, and “by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1–2).
