Caitlin Clark fans miffed as they question star's absence on Time's Most Influential People of 2025 list

WASHINGTON, DC: WNBA star Caitlin Clark was snubbed from Time Magazine's list of The 100 Most Influential People of 2025, which was released on Wednesday, April 16, reported Fox News. The issue has notably upset many netizens, especially as she was named Athlete of the Year by the same publication for 2024.

Time Magazine included other athletes on the list, such as fellow WNBA players Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, primarily for launching the 'Unrivaled' women's basketball league as co-founders.

US gymnast Simone Biles, former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback and Super Bowl LIX MVP Jalen Hurts, and France's Olympic gold medalist swimmer Leon Marchand were also among those featured.

Caitlin Clark's popularity in women's basketball

Caitlan Clark made her team, the Indiana Fever, the most-watched team in the WNBA in her rookie year, as they were part of 14 most-watched WNBA games of the season. She also broke the record for most All-Star votes for any player in WNBA history.

As a testament to her ability to draw eyeballs, Clark’s Indiana Fever played in front of a TV audience of 1.26 million viewers in a game against the Minnesota Lynx in September 2023.

At the same time, the Week-1 Friday night NFL game was going on between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers.

The record for the highest-attended WNBA regular-season contest was set on September 19 last year, when 20,711 fans showed up at Capital One Arena for Clark's first regular-season finale against the Washington Mystics.

Clark drew 1.84 million viewers to her first playoff game against the Connecticut Sun in the same month, setting another WNBA record while competing with an NFL Sunday. She followed it up with yet another record audience of 2.54 million viewers for Game 2.

Her importance for the sport's viewership was highlighted when the WNBA playoffs saw a steep drop-off in viewers after Clark's Fever season ended. The first game between the Aces and Liberty, two of the league's most popular and successful teams, drew an audience of just 929,000.

Fans slam Time magazine for not including Caitlin Clark in prestigious list

Fox Sports host Colin Cowherd slammed the publication on air for excluding Caitlin Collins from their 'Most Influential' list, stating, "That's idiotic! That's the dumbest thing I've ever seen! That's a dumb list… she's the most influential athlete, I would argue, man or woman in America over the last year."

He was supported by many people on X (formerly Twitter), as one commented, "She’s top 3 if we’re being honest."

"Clark is the main reason the league is so popular and she’s not on the list?" asked another.

"I don’t always agree with Colin but on this issue, 💯 - she has to be on this list," noted a third.

"Crazy, she attracted so many new viewers to the WNBA and WCBB, how is that not influential?" expressed a fourth.

"The fact she was times athlete of the year and isn’t on this list is laughable," shared a fifth.

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