‘This is NOT Journalism,’ ‘The Grift Has No Shame’ — Outrage Erupts Over NYT Bestselling Author’s ‘Embarrassing’ Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese Comparison

Alex Kennedy Updated Wed, October 7, 2026 at 5:37 AM UTC 'This is NOT Journalism,' 'The Grift Has No Shame' -- Outrage Erupts Over NYT Bestselling Author's 'Embarrassing' Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese Comparison On Sunday, USA Today columnist Christine Brennan called out the Atlanta Dream’s postseason attendance in Game 1 against the New York Liberty, noting that they drew only 9,745 fans and closed off sections of the upper deck with curtains. Then, she pointed out that Atlanta’s two regular-season games against Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever drew more than 17,000 fans each. This comment quickly went viral on social media, drawing plenty of criticism from fellow journalists and fans alike. WNBA World Criticizes Christine Brennan’s Attendance Focus After Dream’s Playoff Win Brennan has been a vocal proponent of Clark, and she wrote a New York Times-bestselling book “On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women’s Sports” about the Fever superstar. She has also repeatedly pushed back against the narrative that Angel Reese’s drawing power is comparable to Clark’s, which prompted her controversial post. “No matter how critical I’ve been of Cathy Engelbert’s repeated & erroneous attempts to favorably compare Angel Reese to Caitlin Clark’s drawing power, this is a surprise: Curtains up because only 9,745 came to NY-ATL playoff. But two Clark regular-season games? 17,044 both times,” she wrote on X. Her post came hours after the game, which featured Reese’s Dream beating the Liberty 92-82 at State Farm Arena to open the best-of-five semifinals. Jordin Canada scored 25 points, and Reese, who was named the WNBA’s Defensive Player of the Year days earlier, had 17 points, 4 steals, and 3 blocks as Atlanta won a semifinal game for the first time since 2018. Meanwhile, Clark’s Fever was eliminated in the first round by the Las Vegas Aces. Many fellow journalists didn’t mince words over Brennan’s polarizing take. “I have been in sports journalism for 33 years. Even worked at the same venerable journalism sports journalism department as this person. This is NOT journalism. This is straight grift after writing a book on CC. Perhaps its trying to get a second book,” former NABJ president Gregory Hampton Lee Jr. wrote. “What a loser take,” added Tashan Reed , a Washington Commanders reporter for The Washington Post. MORE: ESPN Legend Sends 6-Word Message Ripping WNBA Analyst’s Bold Stance That Caitlin Clark’s Fever Must Cut Ties With Sophie Cunningham Several writers even labeled Brennan a grifter due to her controversial social-media posts. “The grift has no shame,” added Andscape senior culture writer Justin Tinsley. “She’s a full blown $$$ troll now. Brennan was once a respected, pioneering journalist. Now’s she’s reduced to hitching her wagon to culture war sports grifting. CC is somewhere in Cancun. Reese just powered her team to a huge 1st round win. Embarrassing stuff. Brennan is GONE,” added Andscape writer Keith Murphy . Some were just annoyed that Brennan was shifting focus away from the on-court product and instead focusing on attendance numbers and the Reese-versus-Clark rivalry. “This is getting REALLY old. Enjoy the playoffs. Enjoy the overall growth. While some things are true, putting down the league is disingenuous. Journalism today is absolutely biased and dead,” wrote Sara Jane Gamelli of Ball Is Life . “The Dream won a playoff game. Angel Reese played tremendously in said playoff game. And instead of discussing either of those things, it’s an attendance take. We need more shame in society,” added podcaster and Yahoo Sports writer Nekias Duncan . The Dream offered an explanation for the closed upper deck. “We just decided that with the short turnaround, we would only open the lower bowl and really concentrate on selling those tickets,” a team spokesperson told Front Office Sports . MORE: ‘I Don’t Understand Why She’s Opening (DMs)’ — WNBA Analyst Hits Back at Kelsey Mitchell’s Fan Complaint About Playing With Caitlin Clark The lower bowl holds about 8,800 of the arena’s roughly 17,000 seats for basketball, and the team told the outlet that it opened part of the upper section once those sold. Atlanta finished its first-round sweep of Washington on Sept. 30, and Game 1 against New York came four days later. The Dream played most of their 2026 home games at the 3,500-seat Gateway Center, but the team recently announced that all of their home games next season will be played at State Farm Arena. Game 2 between the Dream and Liberty is on Wednesday at State Farm Arena, and tickets are again limited to the lower section. This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .