Regarding the Caitlin Clark case — which some are framing as possible civil rights violations — I liked what was said. I’ve also written about civil rights violations, but the real question is: can the league actually do something to stop this behavior?

Kilmeade: Honestly, I think they’ve done almost nothing. They haven’t said a word. Imagine if this were happening to LeBron — people would be outraged. I don’t know exactly what’s behind it, but I’ve never seen this level of resentment. It reminds me of the 1970s: no one really cared about soccer until Pelé arrived. Suddenly, 77,000 fans were in the stadium. Opponents played him hard, yes, but they respected him, even thanked him afterward. Nobody tried to injure him.

When David Beckham made the decision to join Major League Soccer, it was nothing short of a cultural event. His introductory press conference didn’t just attract media coverage — it actually drew a larger crowd than many MLS matches at the time. Here was a 32-year-old international superstar, a household name whose presence alone carried a sense of glamour and legitimacy to a league that had long struggled for mainstream recognition. Naturally, some players wanted to test themselves against him, eager to prove they belonged on the same field as one of the greatest names in global soccer. Yet alongside admiration there was also a current of resentment, a feeling among some that his arrival highlighted the gap between the MLS and the world’s top leagues, and perhaps cast a shadow over those who had been grinding away in relative obscurity. Beckham’s presence was both an opportunity and a challenge, a spotlight that revealed both the strengths and insecurities of the league.

Fast forward to Caitlin Clark’s arrival in the WNBA, and the parallels are striking. Unlike Beckham, who was already a global icon, Clark entered as a rookie — but one with a reputation so significant that she transformed the conversation around women’s basketball almost overnight. From the moment she stepped onto the court, the numbers began to soar. Television ratings reached heights not seen in two decades, with broadcasts experiencing increases of more than 100%. Attendance at games jumped 14% year over year, a figure that speaks not only to Clark’s personal drawing power but also to the hunger of fans to see the next big star in action. For the first time in years, casual sports viewers and mainstream outlets were paying serious attention to the WNBA, with many acknowledging that Clark’s presence had elevated the league’s relevance on the national stage. Her arrival has become a turning point, a reminder that one player can redefine the narrative of an entire sport.

And yet, alongside the rise in popularity came bizarre and unsettling incidents. Out of nowhere, there were stunts that had little to do with basketball and everything to do with shock value — like someone throwing sex toys onto the court simply to draw attention. What might have been dismissed as a crude prank surprisingly took on a strange life of its own. When it was revealed who orchestrated the act, the digital coin associated with the stunt actually began to climb in value, spiking by Friday of that week. It was an absurd and almost surreal reflection of modern sports culture: while Clark’s talent and star power were pulling women’s basketball into the spotlight for all the right reasons, there were also sideshows trying to exploit that attention for something entirely different.