Why Punish Her?": Even Ex-ESPN Host Is Puzzled After ION Purposely Avoids Promoting Caitlin Clark for Fever Game

Linda Cohn said she couldn’t understand why ION Sports, promoting an Indiana Fever vs. Dallas Wings prime-time matchup, left Caitlin Clark out of the graphic entirely. On Yahoo Sports Daily, the former ESPN host argued that Clark’s star power is precisely what the WNBA should be maximizing, not treating as a problem—especially since she’s selling out games and is the league’s biggest draw. The promotional image instead highlighted Lexie Hull and rookie Raven Johnson for Indiana, while Dallas was represented by Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale. The backlash followed quickly, coming just weeks after ION omitted Clark from its 2026 MVP projection. Cohn also pointed to a WNBA 30th anniversary poster that featured other stars but not Clark, even as media and lawmakers criticized the decision.