Remember when two college athletes sparked an on-court rivalry with the infamous ‘you can’t see me’ gesture? As the equally talented basketball players ventured into the pros and became household names, the rivalry rumors never stopped. And instead of pulling out all the stops, the league decided to bank on the Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese storyline. Even their first game of the season pulled in 2.7 million views on ABC, which is believed to be the most-viewed WNBA regular-season game in 25 years. But before the league could create more intrigue, injuries dictated the script, and just like that, a different narrative emerged.
While the Indiana Fever’s road to a championship is rife with twists and turns, their biggest roadblock came in the form of Caitlin Clark’s injury. And as it spoiled the guard’s blueprint run and pushed her to the sidelines, the locker room struggled in the absence of their star. Eventually, the roster came to terms with the reality, assessed its shortcomings, and regained its former vigor, as the team silenced haters by bagging the 2025 Commissioner’s Cup victory. Their rivals? Marred by struggles of their own.
Needless to say, the Chicago Sky had a faulty start to the season. Those four straight losses? Brutal! As they staggered through the regular games, the roster lost veteran presence in Courtney Vandersloot to an ACL tear. While her absence left a large hole in the backcourt, it also added pressure on forward athletes Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, who continued rallying the team further. But the Sky came crashing down as their lead scorer, Ariel Atkins, found her way to the bench instead. And who other than Angel Reese to follow suit?
But as the current Indiana Fever versus Chicago Sky game was underway, a WNBA/NBA news creator, Mick, took to social media and highlighted the league’s inaccurate injury reports. They pointed to the incident where Clark was considered “day-to-day” right after her right groin injury emerged. However, the tipoff against the New York Liberty prompted officials to declare the athlete out. Something similar occurred with regard to Reese’s latest playing status.
The WNBA needs to get the injury reports under control!
CC was “day to day” a week ago and now out indefinitely. Angel was a “game time decision” for a back injury…
Teams are legit just lying to try stop people selling tickets
— Mick (@DBGyt_) July 27, 2025
While Chicago Sky head coach Tyler Marsh admitted that the team will keep the star under a “day-to-day,” this status changed just hours before the crucial Indiana Fever game. Moreover, this is just one of the many incidents that fans have been subjected to, especially this season.
After a crushing defeat against the Minnesota Lynx, Reese reportedly suffered a back injury. While details of the injury are still under wraps, it prevented her from playing against the Seattle Storm. The athlete even missed out on today’s game against the Indiana Fever. Therefore, what could have been an electric matchup with Clark and Reese culminated in just another regular game. And needless to say, fans and reporters aren’t happy with the way the league has been marketing the injuries.
Fans create a social media uproar
After reporter Mick dropped the truth bomb on X, fans came in support of the statement. With Clark-Reese’s injury a talk of the town, a user pointed out the grave reality of the depleted Chicago Sky roster. They wrote, “Sky only going to have 7 players active tonight.” With Vandersloot on a season-ending injury and Atkins on a leg injury, the locker room’s suffering does not end here.
Chicago Sky stars Angel Reese, Moriah Jefferson, and rookie Hailey Van Lith were also sidelined. With the majority of the roster struggling, the chances of the team winning against a fairly healthy and dynamic Fever naturally become slim. And if anything, that has been the case for Sky against Fever this season so far. Their first matchup resulted in a 93-58 loss, and their second game repeated the same storyline. A 79-52 loss.
With the roster headed towards doom, fans couldn’t help but compare Reese’s last-minute status change with that of Clark’s injury stint. “It’s not that at all. Caitlin Clark is out for the year,” a user wrote. “They can’t say that for obvious reasons. The league will crumble. They’re trying to hang on by keeping hopes up. But they already know she’s done. When she cried on the court and laid her head against the pad, she knew.” The league fails to disclose when a star player is incapable of returning to the hardwood in a bid to generate revenue via ticket sales.
And the league might have a genuine worry here, as evidenced in late May, when the massive impact at the gate was felt. Tickets for the Indiana Fever vs. Washington Mystics were down 47 percent since the announcement of Clark’s injury, as per TickPick, as reported by Front Office Sports. The same matchup was moved from Mystics’ usual home venue of the 4,200-seat CareFirst Arena in Washington to 11,614-seat CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore to accommodate the interest in an expected visit by Clark.
To top that, the get-in price for Indiana’s trip to Sky on June 7 fell 71 percent. Even that game was moved from the 10,387-seat Wintrust Arena to the 20,917-seat United Center in anticipation of Clark’s participation. The team has been using Clark to make a stronghold on the ticket sales as well as the viewership.
And once the sales are in place, the front office pulls out a notice declaring the star’s inability to perform. However, another user had a different view altogether. “She has a groin injury. There’s two grades a pull or a tear. If she had a tear, she’d be out for the season,” the user posted. “Right now she has a pull and needs to heal. There’s no timetable for that so go out and touch grass.”
While the fan used facts to call it a basic groin sprain, another user was quick to blame the medical staff. “Caitlin should never have been “day to day”…. the difference is she saw the doctors in New York,” the user pointed out. “Don’t confuse the incompetence of the Fever’s medical team with injury reporting. If she had received better care, it wouldn’t be an issue. Yes to better reporting overall, though.”
According to Stephanie White, Clark went to see a doctor in New York. While at the time, the head coach didn’t find the time to speak to the trainers between shoot-around and the game to get an update on how the doctor’s appointment went, only time will tell how they are managing the 23-year-old, but for now, the fans are sceptical.
While the fans agreed on a better injury report, a user wrote, “I believe espn leaked Clark’s return date of August 12th.” Sharing a snapshot of the official ESPN website, the user pointed out Clark’s projected return date. But can Clark’s return shake the locker room dynamic or strengthen it further? And are these delayed and misleading injury reports really a bait using popular stars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers to generate ticket sales? What do you think?
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