Seattle Storm star Gabby Williams quits WNBA in wake of controversial Caitlin Clark comments

A WNBA star has sensationally quit the league after re-igniting the furor over Caitlin Clark’s earnings and the salaries in women’s basketball.  Seattle Storm star Gabby Williams has left to join Fenerbahce in Turkey following her team’s elimination from the WNBA playoffs by the Las Vegas Aces.

Williams’ move also comes just days after she sparked controversy by slamming the league for its failure to pay players more.  She also weighed in on Clark’s earnings, which have been a hot topic ever since the 22-year-old was drafted by the Indiana Fever with the first overall pick in the WNBA draft.  President Joe Biden was among those to speak out, claiming ‘women are not paid their fair share’ after it emerged that Clark’s rookie contract was worth only $76,000.

Former Seattle Storm star Gabby Williams has left the WNBA to join Fenerbahce in Turkey

It comes just days after the power forward weighed in on Caitlin Clark’s earnings power

Clark helped the WNBA enjoy record viewing figures and a huge spike in attendances. But her rookie season also included allegations of bullying and racial privilege.  Williams recently hit out at WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert for comments she made about the earning potential for players in the league.

Engelbert previously claimed that WNBA players can make up to $700,000 a year, only for Williams to insist: ‘That’s actually not true at all. There’s not one player who makes that.’  The 28-year-old forward, a first-round draft pick by the Chicago Sky in 2018, added: ‘We were promised team marketing agreements and league marketing agreements, but they’ve fallen quite short.

‘So it’s still not enough for us international players to want to stay here. And that’s a choice of the players.  ‘If I make a choice to make more money, whatever, and then teams are mad that I don’t come back, but that’s how it is.’  One Clark fan then pointed out that the Indiana Fever star’s earnings had in fact surpassed $700,000 during her rookie season. That is despite her base WNBA salary being just $76,000.

Williams responded to the fan on social media, insisting that she was referring only to WNBA pay – not money made through sponsorships and other outside deals.  ‘Clark makes $70,000 in the WNBA,’ Williams said. ‘So I know all these Caitlin Clark fans are like “Caitlin Clark makes $700,000”.  ‘That’s off of endorsements… to everyone saying “leave the country, if you’re unhappy in America”, I did.’

The forward averaged 10.3 points, four rebounds and 3.7 assists during the 2024 WNBA regular season before deciding to head for Turkey.  Clark, meanwhile, set numerous WNBA records during a turbulent rookie season which saw her at the center of a racism and bullying storm.

Earlier this year, the No 1 overall pick, a former standout for the Iowa Hawkeyes, was knocked to the ground by rival Chennedy Carter. ‘Yo b****,’ the Sky star appeared to mutter.  It was an incident that went viral and prompted many fans – including DailyMail.com columnist Tim Howard – to claim Clark was the victim of jealousy.  But others have suggested that the 22-year-old – now one of the biggest stars in sports – has benefited from being white.  ‘It doesn’t matter how hard I work,’ Aces star A’ja Wilson said in May. ‘It doesn’t matter what we all do as black women, we’re still going to be swept underneath the rug.’

Clark last week hit out at fans accused of racially abusing her WNBA rivals during the Fever’s playoff defeat by the Connecticut Sun.  Indiana’s elimination – which cut short Clark’s season – was overshadowed by allegations of racism by Fever supporters during the team’s 87-81 game two defeat.

Sun star Alyssa Thomas said the abuse was worse than anything she had experienced in an 11-year career.   ‘I’ve never been called the things that I’ve been called on social media and there’s no place for it,’ Thomas said.  Speaking last week, Clark added: ‘It’s definitely upsetting. Nobody in our league should be facing any sort of racism, hurtful, disrespectful, hateful comments and threats.’  She added: ‘Those aren’t fans, those are trolls, and it’s a real disservice to the people in our league, the organization the WNBA.’