"Now tell me who the face of the league is?" - Fans ignite debate as Caitlin Clark's jersey retirement post crushes A'ja Wilson's in engagement

The University of Iowa announced on Wednesday that it is retiring Caitlin Clark's No. 22 jersey next year. It will be on the rafters of the Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 22, 2025, which coincidentally is the same date as A'ja Wilson's jersey retirement ceremony at the University of South Carolina.

Clark played four seasons for the Hawkeyes from 2020 to 2024, becoming the NCAA's all-time leading scorer in men's and women's basketball. She led Iowa to back-to-back championship games in 2023 and 2024, losing to LSU and South Carolina, respectively.

"I'm forever proud to be a Hawkeye and Iowa holds a special place in my heart that is bigger than just basketball," Clark said in a statement. "It means the world to me to receive this honor and to celebrate it with my family, friends and alumni. It will be a great feeling to look up in the rafters and see my jersey alongside those that I've admired for so long."

As usual, fans noticed that Caitlin Clark's jersey retirement ceremony is on the same date as A'ja Wilson's. While it's not an issue, given that it won't be shown on the same network and venue, some had to compare the engagement numbers from both announcements.

Iowa's post got more than 300,000 impressions after just two hours, while South Carolina's announcement has not reached 400,000 and was shared two months ago.

"Now tell me who the face of the league is?" a fan asked.

"A'ja Wilson fans really complaining about CC’s retirement jersey date? Feels more like displaced anger," one fan wrote.

"Aja fans are not paying that damn much for no ticket!!! They attract two different fan bases!!" another fan explained.

Another fan pointed out the disparity in ticket prices for both jersey retirement ceremonies, asking who the face of the WNBA and women's basketball is.

"Now you tell me which one is the face of women's basketball … I'll wait," a fan posted.

"Why did it take the Gamecocks wait 7 years to retire her number?" one fan asked.

"There are A'ja fans complaining about Caitlin's jersey retirement date and how it's disrespectful, but there's not a single tweet of them promoting A'ja's jersey retirement until today," another fan remarked.

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Caitlin Clark's jersey to be retired against JuJu Watkins' USC

Caitlin Clark's jersey to be retired against JuJu Watkins' USC. (Photo: IMAGN)

As mentioned above, Caitlin Clark's jersey retirement ceremony is on Feb. 2, 2025. The Iowa Hawkeyes have a game that day against JuJu Watkins and USC, and it will be nationally televised on Fox Sports.

Watkins is one of the best players in college basketball this season. She's not expected to get drafted in the WNBA until 2027.