Dick Vitale Rips WNBA Players for 'Jealousy' Toward Caitlin Clark Over All-Star Rank

Sports broadcasting icon Dick Vitale had Caitlin Clark's back after she finished ninth in player voting for the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game.

Mar 1, 2025; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; ESPN analyst Dick Vitale before the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

The complete 2025 WNBA All-Star Game participants were announced on June 30. While it had been known that Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier were the two top vote-getters for over a day (which means they're the two All-Star team captains), the other players included in the game were revealed on Monday.

However, the players partaking in the July 19 game aren't the only thing that was revealed. The entire voting process (which is 50% fan votes, 25% WNBA player votes, and 25% media votes) was also disclosed. And fans were quick to note that while Clark was the top fan vote getter, she was ranked No. 9 when it came to guards in the WNBA player vote.

Many took this seemingly disrespectful ranking of Clark by her peers to heart. And one example of this is with college basketball broadcasting icon Dick Vitale, who made his exasperation apparent with a June 30 X post.

"Absolutely PURE JEALOUSY that ⁦⁩@WNBA players voted Caitlin Clark the 9 th best guard . Some day they will realize what she Has done for ALL of the players in the WNBA . Charted planes - increase in salaries-sold out crowds - improved TV Ratings," Vitale wrote in the post, which has already amassed nearly 500,000 views in less than two hours.

Absolutely PURE JEALOUSY that ⁦@WNBA⁩ players voted Caitlin Clark the 9 th best guard . Some day they will realize what she Has done for ALL of the players in the WNBA . Charted planes - increase in salaries-sold out crowds - improved TV Ratings https://t.co/TwGj1DtQMU

— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) July 1, 2025

While it ultimately doesn't matter where Clark was ranked by her peers in terms of this All-Star Game, it does open a can of worms about how she's viewed by other players in the WNBA, which has long been a topic of tense discussion.