Caitlin Clark’s rookie season in the WNBA flipped the script for women’s basketball, but one glaring omission has fans and now major media voices fuming.
Time Magazine just dropped its 2025 list of the 100 Most Influential People, and somehow, the biggest name in basketball right now isn’t on it. Colin Cowherd, who saw the list, wasn’t pleased. The FOX Sports analyst didn’t hold back before sharing his view, calling it “dumbest thing’ he’s ever seen.
Colin Cowherd Goes Off on Time Magazine Over Caitlin Clark Snub
Clark has been the face of women’s hoops for over a year. From Iowa’s Final Four madness to WNBA Rookie of the Year and leading the entire league in assists, her impact has been seismic. So when Time left her off its 2025 list, even after naming her Athlete of the Year in 2024, Cowherd couldn’t hold back.
“How is Caitlin Clark not in this?” Cowherd said during The Herd on April 16. “If Caitlin Clark is not in this, the list is nonsense.”
"If Caitlin Clark's not in this, the list is nonsense"@ColinCowherd reacts to @CaitlinClark22 being left off the Time Magazine Most 100 Influential People list pic.twitter.com/mhcDYbBvqa
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd)
He doubled down, and then some. “That’s idiotic. That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen… In the history of American sports… If you talk about league-changing athletes in America, Tiger [Woods] in golf, Michael Jordan in basketball, Caitlin Clark. If you don’t have Caitlin Clark… that’s just dumb. That’s a dumb media list.”
Cowherd, known for hot takes, didn’t surprise many with his opinion.
Clark’s rookie season didn’t just boost her stock, it elevated an entire league. Attendance, jersey sales, TV ratings, and ticket prices all skyrocketed.
Clark’s Influence is Bigger Than Any Stat Line
Let’s talk numbers. Clark’s games last season averaged 1.19 million viewers. Games without her, though, brought in 394,000 viewers.
Her presence turned every Indiana Fever matchup into must-see TV. She sold out arenas, broke streaming records, and turned preseason games into headline events. And she did all that as a rookie.
But it’s more than just stats. Clark brought in a new wave of fans, reshaped how women’s sports are covered, and opened the door for endorsement deals and media attention that didn’t exist at this scale before. As Cowherd said, “She’s the most influential athlete, I would argue, man or woman in America in the last year.”
The fact that she’s gearing up for her second WNBA season after a historic rookie year, with preseason games already sold out, only proves Cowherd’s point. Whether it’s Time Magazine or not, Clark’s influence doesn’t need a list to be felt.
