Sports

Caitlin Clark was ultimately proven right, but she needs to think about the agenda surrounding her name

Published

2 weeks ago

June 17, 2024

Caitlin Clark was ultimately proven right, but she needs to think about the agenda surrounding her name

INDIANAPOLIS – Athletes often speak in generalities as a defense mechanism. Instead of delving deeply into a potentially controversial topic, or even addressing the issue, they provide non-answers, using clichés and pre-programmed talking points to maintain a safe distance.

Part of me would like to believe Caitlin Clark did that Thursday morning when I asked if she was bothered by fans using her name as a weapon in the culture wars dividing the country. The Indiana Fever Observatory did not close the door on this topic; she refused to even open it.

“No,” she stated. ‘I do not see it. I do not see it. That’s not where my focus is. My focus is here and on basketball. That’s where it needs to be, that’s where it has been, and I’m just trying to get better every day.

Clark returned five hours later and told reporters that “people shouldn’t be using my name to push those agendas,” but the damage had already been done. Connecticut Sun wing DiJonai Carrington was among those who spoke out against her initial comments, saying on to justify. everything is crazy. We all see the sh*t. We all have a platform. We all have a voice and they all carry weight. Silence is a luxury.

I have asked #IndianaFeverCaitlin Clark directly about her name being weaponized for racism/misogyny (as Dijonai Carrington alluded to):

“It’s disappointing. … Everyone in our world deserves equal respect. The women in our league deserve equal respect.” pic.twitter.com/gyAWBqGG8c

— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) June 13, 2024

It’s not surprising that Clark would initially try to avoid the subject. She’s a newcomer struggling to find her way on a new team in a new league, at a time when the shots that fell so consistently in college are now increasingly missing the mark. Instead of being the go-to closer, which has contributed to her enormous popularity in Iowa, she is sometimes benched in the waning moments due to turnover issues.

But there’s no need to hide behind basketball if you’ve been anointed as the transcendent, rising tide that will lift the WNBA to greater prosperity. And that is certainly not allowed if people use your name as a means to stir up racism, misogyny, homophobia and other social ills. To whom much is given, much is indeed required.

The topic is sure to crop up again on Sunday when the Chicago Sky comes to town. Chicago players Chennedy Carter and Angel Reese have been targeted by Clark supporters after separate incidents involving Clark. Sky players said Carter and other team members were harassed at a team hotel days after leveling Clark with a dirty hip check on June 1. And Reese has drawn ire from some Clark fans for mocking Clark during LSU’s national championship victory two seasons ago.

But they are not the only Black women attacked or marginalized by those trying to defend Clark. Teammate Aliyah Boston deleted one of her social media accounts because she was tired of being bombarded by “couch coaches,” many of whom tried to distract from Clark’s early struggles by pointing out Boston’s shortcomings.

Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson is widely considered the WNBA’s best player and a high-character ambassador for the game and its players. But when she responded that race is a “huge” factor in why black players haven’t received the same kind of attention or marketing opportunities as Clark, social media went into a frenzy, with one person writing: “My advice to A’ja Wilson , instead of attributing this young lady’s popularity to racing in a league where 60 percent of the players are black, you should be thanking Caitlin Clark, because without her I wouldn’t know who you are or talk about your sport.

There is a tradition in professional sports of high-profile rookies being tested. Veterans hit it hard to see what they’re made of. Regardless of the sport or gender. But when Carrington insulted Clark and mocked the rookie for what she perceived as an embellishment, much of the social media commentary was predictable. “Caitlin Clark was targeted by black players again on Monday, this time in Connecticut,” one person wrote. “Suns (sic) guard DiJonai Carrington forcibly checked on Clark and then taunted her after the flagrant foul. The crowd cheered. Had the races been reversed, Carrington would have been ejected.

Clark didn’t make the comments, but I was curious about her feelings about people using her name to sow division. Her first reaction Thursday morning: “It’s not something I have control over, so I don’t spend too much time and attention thinking about things like that. And honestly, I don’t see much of it. Like I said, basketball is my job. Everything on the outside, I have no control over that, so I’m not going to spend time thinking about that. People can talk about whatever they want to talk about, have conversations about whatever it is, but I think for myself, I’m just here to play basketball. I’m just here to have fun. I’m trying to help our team win. … I honestly don’t pay much attention to that.”

But is she honest? It must be said that Clark is 22 and faces enormous demands and expectations. That should certainly offer her a level of grace. Yet her comments were troubling because they showed a lack of awareness and empathy toward Black peers, who do not have the privilege to distance themselves from the isms they regularly encounter.

Carrington compared her silence to luxury. I see it as complicity.

Maybe she didn’t want to go into it fully because of the sensitivity involved? Or perhaps she followed the advice of her inner circle, including advisors who may have thought it would be more profitable to say nothing? It worked well for Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, although it sent the message that money was more important than morality. But the initial reluctance to stand up to hate and intimidation was always going to be problematic in a league that is predominantly black and has a significant LGBTQ+ population.

Coincidentally, her comments came on the same day that the Women’s National Basketball Players Association posted a column on The Players’ Tribune highlighting how proud its members are of their history of fighting social injustice. “Our work has always been bigger than basketball,” it said at one point.

That’s why it was important that Clark backtracked on her comments late Thursday, about an hour before tipoff about the Atlanta Dream. She was in danger of losing the respect of some of her peers, especially at a time when more and more prominent white players are speaking out as allies in the fight against racism and homophobia.

It would have been conspicuous and problematic for a league that prides itself on inclusion and acceptance if its most visible player stood quietly on the sideline as legendary WNBA guard Sue Bird spoke out in a 2020 CNN pieceor UConn guard Paige Bueckers addressed it during her 2021 ESPY acceptance speechor former LSU guard Hailey Van Lith last March called criticism of her black teammates racistor with Los Angeles Sparks rookie Cameron Brink said last week“I will acknowledge that there is a privilege for the league’s younger white players.”

No one is asking Clark to be a social activist or a prominent face in the fight for respect, but it is important for her to at least denounce those who might use her name to spread hatred and to embrace division.

“It’s disappointing, it’s not acceptable…,” she said before tipping off people using her name to push agendas. “This competition is one that I have admired and wanted to be a part of since I was young. Some of the women in this league were my biggest idols and role models growing up. … Treating every woman in this class with equal respect is simply a human thing that everyone should do. Just be a nice person and treat him or her the way you want to be treated.”

It may have taken her time to express those feelings, but that shouldn’t overshadow the fact that she ended up in the right place in the end. It was a positive step for her and the league.

(Photo: Greg Fiume/Getty Images)