Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu Not Competing In 3-Point Contest Perfectly Sums Up WNBA's Incompetency

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One would imagine that the WNBA would want to have Caitlin Clark front and center in every situation imaginable. After all, she's the sole reason the league was able to double-up its ticket sales for this year's All-Star Game compared to last year's and sell out the glorified scrimmage in Phoenix.

Apart from the All-Star Game itself, the 3-point contest is undoubtedly the marquee event of the weekend. Seeing as how Clark is averaging eight 3-point attempts per game this season, made 548 shots from beyond the arc during her time at Iowa, and is the all-time leading scorer in the history of NCAA Division I basketball, we can confirm that she can shoot a basketball.

READ: Caitlin Clark Smashes WNBA Single-Game Assist Record To Seal Rookie Of The Year Race

There is also the fact that Caitlin Clark is the sole reason you're currently reading this article or have even begun to casually keep up with the WNBA. Hell, she's the only reason I'm sitting here writing this story.

Well, the WNBA announced the five players who will compete in the 3-point contest on Friday, and Clark wasn't among them. To add even more insult to injury, Sabrina Ionescu won't participate either.

Not only did Ionescu win last year's WNBA 3-point contest, she went head-to-head with Steph Curry during the NBA's 3-point contest earlier this year. She's a popular player, to put it mildly.

We're going to give the WNBA the benefit of the doubt and assume that it asked both Ionescu and Clark to participate, which could mean they both simply declined the invitation, but that doesn't make the situation any more acceptable. 

If you are the powers that be at the WNBA you do absolutely everything in your power to get Clark, and Ionescu to an extent, to suit up for a 45-minute 3-point contest. 

The most egregious piece in all of this is that the WNBA announced its Clark and Ionescu-less 3-point contest the same day that it was reported that the league has landed the biggest media deal in league history valued at $2.2 billion over 11 years.

Viewership and interest in the WNBA has never been stronger, yet the league can't include the face of women's basketball to throw up a few 3-pointers? Truly outrageous.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.