Want attention in the WNBA? break the rules! The media loves it

In my opinion this started out as genuine cause for concern when Caitlin Clark was getting hard fouled repeatedly in what appeared to be strikes rooted in jealousy because a new girl had come along and was showing everyone up. Later on, others became embroiled in a "rivalry" with her and they too would be in the limelight because of it. This was most true with Angel Reese, who apparently took issue with Caitlin Clark before either of them even went pro.

Then there were times when a couple of Connecticut (the worst team in the league probably) took a lot of hard shots at Caitlin in the same game and one player, a particularly pretty blonde who just happens to also be a black belt in some form of martial arts, took hard shots back, and stood her ground after the fact as some sort of revenge for Caitlin.

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The internet went wild with this and even though Sophie Cunningham is basically a slightly-better-than-average backup player in the sport, she became an overnight sensation and her merch sales went through the roof. Eyes were on her, and anything she did instantly became "cool."

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This became so immediately popular that the WNBA had to step in and make some sort of ruling that "the point" is not allowed to be branded by any organization, private or public including the WNBA themselves. Pity. That was actually quite cool.

The thing here that a lot of people don't really pay as much attention to as they should is that we are making the wrong people famous in this sport and I believe the players themselves are starting to think that if they want to be a bit famous in this league, the only way they can do it is to get into a bit of trouble by acting a fool in a game.

This is sad because the players who are genuinely good for the most part get overlooked.

Nowhere has this been more evident than in the case of Kelsey Mitchell, who surprise! Also plays for the Indiana Fever alongside Caitlin and Sophie yet a lot of people don't even know this. She is their highest scorer and is more of a playmaker than Caitlin half the time and more than Cunningham all the time.

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That's a pretty unflattering shot of whoever the other person is. Maybe she should flagrantly foul someone so she can get into the news.

When Mitchel scores 20 point + per game, the media barely even talks about it even though there are very few people that have ever done this and she recently set a record for the most 20+ points per game, games. It went by without barely a peep.

But now she is in the forefront because of something that is barely related to basketball: She lost her cool and shoved another player on the court and acted a fool - something that is not at all in her normal range of activities.

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Unfortunately, this is the most that woman has ever been in the news. Normally they just glance over her because she keeps her cool in every single game, always has. She is like a robot out there. Win or lose she always stays calm and does what she is there to do: Win basketball games.

The society that we live in doesn't reward this though, unfortunately. We are interested in drama and Kelsey finally got a taste of that delicious limelight by breaking the rules and basically playing as the opposite of what she actually is.

Other players in the WNBA have only been in the news for doing something bad and another trend of focusing on their own Instagram fashion pictures seems to take more of a forefront to the game than the actual games do.

Of course there are some feminists out there that are complaining about the girls being "objectified" but listen folks, these players CHOOSE to do this on their own free will. If that is what they are going to be rewarded for instead of being really really good at basketball, I can't really say I blame them.

I find it a bit sad but also entertaining that the best moments in WNBA games these days, or at least the ones that the media latches onto for stories, tends to focus on the WWE aspect of the game rather than the basketball end of it.