Letters to the Editor: Caitlin Clark gets bullied in the WNBA. Why is that considered normal for rookies?

To the editor: I have never been a sports fan. I have never been interested in team sports. I never “got it.” I know almost nothing about basketball. (“Caitlin Clark can handle the bruises that come with being a WNBA rookie,” Opinion, June 4)

I’m only here due to being enchanted by the “Caitlin Clark effect” on basketball. I naively thought women’s basketball might be something more than men’s basketball.

Why should Clark, the all-time leading basketball scorer among NCAA Division I schools, have to “handle” rough play and intentional fouls now that she plays professionally? Why do the WNBA and its referees (and L.A. Times journalists) excuse, condone or even encourage the hazing of rookies?

The WNBA had me for a moment, but now I’m done. Intentional rough play and flagrant fouls distract from the game and leave me feeling angry, not uplifted. I can watch the news for that.

Pat Veesart, Santa Margarita

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To the editor: Why must we beat up new players? It seems as though every sports league, both men’s and women’s, must “jump” new members. Why is this necessary?

Toughness can be demonstrated by playing the game well. Unnecessary roughness isn’t needed, but evidently, rookies’ new teammates believe they need to “take it” to prove themselves.

Suzanne Brugman, La Habra Heights