As her meteoric rise from college basketball star to top WNBA draft pick has driven some insane across the country, the Caitlin Clark psychosis continues to grow to harmful levels.
Even Charles Barkley had to deal with it. this week.
“You women are all vile… You should be thankful to that woman. [Clark] “Thank you for getting a private charter flight for you guys,” Barkley said on the TNT pregame show for Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals series on Wednesday. “The money and the name recognition she’s brought to the WNBA. Don’t be a dude and give her some pithy talk. Listen to what she’s accomplished and send her some flowers.”
As always, Sir Charles is forthright in cutting through the nonsense, but he may have missed the mark a little.
Yes, Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson said Clark’s reputation has to do with him being white: “So it pisses me off when people say it’s not about race, because it is.”
But I think most of the hostility comes from media pundits and social media critics who make a living by belittling Clarke’s abilities because of the color of her skin.
Sports journalist Jemele Hill said Clarke’s popularity was “problematic”, adding: “We’d be very naive if we didn’t say her race and sexual orientation played a role in her popularity.”
But it was “The View’s” Sunny Hostin who threw the biggest brick.
“I think there’s a beautiful privilege,” Hostin said of the Indiana Fever’s new guard. “There’s such a thing as white privilege. There’s such a thing as tall privilege. We have to acknowledge that,” he said this week.
If so, why is LA Sparks rookie Cameron Brink, who is white, blonde and looks like an IMG model, not getting the same buzz and marketing dollars as Clark?
Hostin continued to display a total ignorance and out of touch attitude towards sports and business.
“And part of it is a race issue, because if you think about the Britney Griners of the world, why did she have to perform in Russia? Because they didn’t pay her.”
That’s right: WNBA star Griner played in Russia (where she was arrested on drug charges) because the racists running the league didn’t want to pay her too much money.
In Hostin’s fantasy, the WNBA’s big men are swimming around in Scrooge McDuck vaults, accumulating money, waiting for a white savior other than Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Kelsey Plum, Breanna Stewart, Elena Delle Donne or Sabrina Ionescu to show up.
Just a few months ago, there was public panic that Clark herself was not being paid enough as a WNBA rookie.
In sports, it’s not about black or white, it’s about green.
The league is far from a cash cow, but it is showing strong signs of growth thanks to several factors, including a promising pool of rookies who are benefiting from NIL’s marketing efforts.
The biggest reason is Clark, a generational talent from Iowa who transcends all of this identity nonsense.
She is to basketball what Serena Williams is to tennis and Tiger Woods is to golf: They may have been racial outcasts in their respective sports, but more importantly, they brought change — attention, fanfare and a unique style of play.
Clarke knocks down three-pointers from the logo like Stephen Curry and makes thrilling passes. She’s broken every college scoring record, sold out arenas and been the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft.
It’s hard to pinpoint all the ingredients she uses to be truly attractive, but she’s a marketer’s dream, and her rising star provides endless sparkle for the other stars in the league.
Clarke deserves legitimate criticism when he gets intercepted, doesn’t play defense, or doesn’t make the shot. There was a touch of jealousy in Taurasi’s snide comments about Clarke’s move to the league, but at least it was confined to the court. Plus, CC is a grown man. He can handle himself.
But these attacks narrow Clark down to her race, sexual orientation, and appearance — all of which run counter to the feminist principles that many of her critics claim to hold dear. The belittlements ignore her relentless work ethic, tenacity, and talent.
If you’re still wondering about the unnecessary hate directed at Clark, just take a look at LeBron James’ take.
“My favorite thing about what she’s brought to the sport is it makes more people want to watch,” he told JJ Redick on Wednesday. “More people want to tune in. Don’t get me wrong. Don’t get me wrong. Kaitlyn Clark is the reason a lot of great things happen in the WNBA. But I don’t think she, personally, should have anything to do with what’s being said.”
What does Clarke think about it? We don’t know, because she doesn’t complain (or maybe not to the umpires), but the 22-year-old has great self-control.
Beyond Her Recent appearances on “Saturday Night Live”is her tribute to the basketball players who came before her, but we don’t get many glimpses into her personality. She gives bland answers to the media. There is literally nothing controversial about her, except for her race, which some may find objectionable.
In progressive terms, Clark is simply white, heterosexual, and plays basketball.
All this backlash is sour grapes.
And for new fans, it’s just plain annoying.
