If you ask me, any list highlighting female success that leaves Caitlin Clark out might as well be considered satire…
TIME Magazine backed themselves into a confusing corner with this latest blunder. When they crowned their “Athlete of the Year” last year, they did the right thing by giving the title to Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark. Surprisingly, there was some backlash to the decision, with many in the WNBA saying the award should have been given to the entire league instead of just Clark.
Even though Caitlin is, to be frank, the sole driving force behind the league’s resurgence and success. Just look at attendance numbers between games featuring Caitlin Clark and games not featuring Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever… the difference is STARK.
So the 23-year-old basketball phenom got the “Athlete of the Award” honor… what’s the big whoop? Well, TIME recently unveiled their “Women of the Year” issue, and guess who didn’t make the cut? Caitlin Clark. I’m not sure how a woman can win the “Athlete of the Year” award and then fail to be named as one of the best women of 2024… as the kids say, the “math ain’t mathing.”
Ahead of the official release of the prestigious list, TIME Chief Executive Officer Jessica Sibley had this to say about the their female selections for their “Women of the Year” issue:
“The 2025 TIME Women of the Year exemplify visionary leadership, inspiring global change through their unwavering commitment to building a more inclusive and equitable future for all. We are honored to convene these remarkable women at our annual Women of the Year Gala and to introduce our inaugural Women of the Year Leadership Forum, to further amplify their voices and impact.”
As for the women that were chosen by TIME, the list was chock-full of influential females working to make the world a better place, and one WNBA player did end up making the cut:
-Actor and producer Nicole Kidman
-WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson
-Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles
-Artist Laufey
-Actor Anna Sawai
-Reproductive rights activist Amanda Zurawski
-Feeding America CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot
-Gambian women’s rights activist Fatou Baldeh
-Activist and author Raquel Willis
-Actor and breast cancer awareness advocate Olivia Munn
-Co-founder and CEO of Bobbie Laura Modi
-Conservationist Purnima Devi Barman
-Voice for survivors of sexual violence Gisèle Pelicot
Now to be clear, I’m not saying that all of those women were undeserving of being recognized as TIME’s Women of the Year… but does the list not lose come credibility by omitting WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark? It looks like TIME decided to include Las Vegas Aces star A’Ja Wilson instead.
In her defense, Wilson has been an absolute beast on the basketball court. She’s won two WNBA titles and taken home the league MVP award three different times in the past five years. The talented center also played a pivotal role in helping the USA Women’s basketball team bring home gold at the 2024 Olympics, and she posted career-high numbers last year as well. A’Ja Wilson definitely had herself a year and an argument could definitely be made for her being the WNBA’s best player.
However, the TIME Chief Executive Officer even said herself that the list was recognizing “visionary leadership” and women who are “inspiring global change,” and I’d say Caitlin Clark has done that just in the past couple of years for the WNBA and women’s sports at large. I mean, would your average sports fan even know who A’Ja Wilson is if not for Caitlin Clark bringing their attention to the league? Probably not…
Simple fix here… put both A’Ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark on the list, because you simply can’t omit your FEMALE “Athlete of the Year” from the “Women of the Year” issue. Especially if she’s got a highlight reel that looks like this:
The post Caitlin Clark Inexplicably Left Off TIME’s ‘Women Of The Year’ List Despite Being Named TIME’s ‘Athlete Of The Year’ first appeared on Whiskey Riff.