WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark was named TIME Magazine’s Athlete of the Year last week. In her interview with TIME, she addressed some of the issues that followed her breakout year.
“I want to say I’ve earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege. A lot of those players in the league that have been really good have been Black players. This league has kind of been built on them. The more we can appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that, and then continue to have brands and companies invest in those players that have made this league incredible, I think it’s very important. I have to continue to try to change that. The more we can elevate Black women, that’s going to be a beautiful thing,” she said.
Why did Clark feel the need to apologize for being white? If she earned everything that she had received, when did she feel the need to acknowledge her white privilege? Why did she single out black women as the only women who need to be elevated?
This is not the first time that Clark has used her platform to try to elevate the status of black women basketball players. When she appeared on “Saturday Night Live” prior to the start of her WNBA season in April, she took a few moments to say, “thanks to all the great players, Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, Cynthia Cooper, the great Dawn Staley, and my basketball hero, Maya Moore. These are the women that kicked down the door, so I could walk inside.”
Absent from the list were the names of any white women players who came before her such as Ann Myers, Nancy Lieberman, Rebecca Lobo, Diana Taurasi, or Sue Bird — all Hall-of-Famers or sure-fire Hall-of-Famers who also helped pave the way for her success.
By omitting the white players, she made it racial. She is fighting the wrong fight. Her fight should be about women getting more respect and recognition in the game of basketball, women of all races who have been overlooked and ignored, not just black women. In her statement, she was the one overlooking and ignoring great women basketball players. Her fight should be for all women players, not just one specific subset of women players, especially when that subset has been the ones bullying her and disrespecting her. Her statement isn’t going to stop the bullying. Sheryl Swoopes, whom she thanked by name on “Saturday Night Live,” was one of the loudest voices casting doubt and disrespect on Clark the entire WNBA season.
Acquiescing to a bully doesn’t placate the bully, it emboldens them. They know they can push her around now. We saw this happen immediately after the unveiling of the TIME cover, when Sheila Johnson, a co-owner of The Washington Mystics, criticized TIME Magazine’s decision to name Caitlin Clark as its “Athlete of the Year.” On CNN, she questioned why TIME “couldn’t have put the whole WNBA on that cover.” There was no congratulations to Clark for the honor. There was no acknowledgment of what Clark said to promote black women players or for helping to elevate the status of the WNBA. Clark was summarily dismissed by Sheila Johnson because she is white.
When Clark felt the need to apologize for being white, she bought the false narrative that the only reason why people like her game is because she is white and the only reason why other WNBA players are not as popular is because they’re black. People are not fans of Clark because she’s white; they’re fans of hers because she’s a great basketball player, and her style of play is different than many other women in the WNBA. I like her game because she shoots logo threes (a mid-court shot) and is a phenomenal passer. That’s why most people like to watch her play. That style of play brings excitement to an otherwise unexciting style of basketball.
Angel Reese’s game of backing her defender down on the block and shooting layups is a boring style of basketball. That is the 1950s style of basketball — the George Mikan era. Clark brought the shooting of Steph Curry and the passing of Magic Johnson all in one player to the WNBA, and that is why she has developed in extraordinarily large fanbase.
Don’t buy the false narrative that people weren’t watching the WNBA because black females were dominating it. Serena Williams, a black female athlete, has an unbelievable fan base. Simone Biles has a very large fan base in a sport that historically has been dominated by white women. The most popular professional athletes in America, Michael Jordan and LeBron James, are black. When Clark stops hitting logo threes and stops throwing dimes, people aren’t going to like her as much anymore, regardless of the color of her skin.
If anything, one of the things that endeared Clark to her fans was that she appeared to be all about basketball. She is a fiery competitor who was only concerned with playing the game and winning. She managed to stay above the fray of the racial politics that continually tried to pull her into that maelstrom. There was something decidedly refreshing about an athlete who just wanted to play the game and was reluctant to use their sports platform to shove their opinions and politics down our throats.
Sports fans have become tired of the kneeling, the gestures, the slogans, and the lectures. They just want to watch the game. Clark would be wise to remember that her talent on the court does not make her opinions on politics or social issues any more valuable than mine or any fans who pay to see her play. We thought she knew that. That was one of the reasons why we rooted for her. But now she has changed all of that.
Jesus Christ is King
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