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The Indiana Fever employs the most marketable and popular women’s basketball player on the planet, Caitlin Clark. The team’s new president recognizes the franchise’s gold mine opportunity, and she’s thinking big – as in Apple big – moving forward.

Kelly Krauskopf, who returns to her role as the Fever’s president after holding the same title from 2000 to 2017, laid out her plans to build the franchise into something that mirrors the world’s largest tech company during her introductory press conference.

“We have a foundational player in Caitlin Clark, and we’re going to continue to add to that. But I want this team to be a leader in the country and an enduring brand like Apple. We have a real opportunity here,” Krauskopf explained.

While it’s easy to focus on the here and now with Clark being one of the biggest sports stars in the world, Krauskopf is looking years and years down the line with her vision.

“This is the moment where it takes a generation some time to get to that level,” Krauskopf said. “I would tell our players, ‘Look, we’re building this for someone else. We’re building this for someone’s 10-year-old daughter now,’ because that’s what you do. We wanted to keep moving it forward, pushing it forward and paying it forward.”

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 19: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever watches the game in the third quarter against the Washington Mystics at Capital One Arena on September 19, 2024 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

The new president of the Indiana Fever is calling for a rebrand despite the franchise never being more relevant. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Krauskopf may have recognized Clark’s importance in this dream she’s laying out, but it can not be understated that if Clark wasn’t part of this equation, a WNBA president talking about building their team’s brand to the level of Apple would be utterly insane.

The timing of Krauskopf announcing this vision of a rebrand is interesting.

This is a team that has never been more popular, and again, that solely goes back to Clark’s presence. You could easily argue that the Fever don’t need a rebrand, they simply need Clark to stay healthy, but we’re also talking about a franchise whose fans have been accused of racism by players around the WNBA.

Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese has accused Clark’s fans at both the collegiate and professional levels of being racist, sending her death threats, and even sending explicitly AI-generated images of Reese to her family members.

“I think it’s really just the fans, her fans, the Iowa fans, now the Indiana fans, that are really just, they ride for her, and I respect that, respectfully. But sometimes it’s very disrespectful. I think there’s a lot of racism when it comes to it,” Reese said during the first episode of her podcast on Sept. 5.

“People have come down to my address, followed me home, it’s come down to that… Multiple occasions, people have made AI-images of me naked. They have sent it to my family members. My family members are like uncles, sending it to me like, ‘Are you naked on Instagram?”

These accusers have provided zero evidence of Fever fans being racist, but the evidence isn’t needed in the year 2024 because everything is based on perception instead of fact.