Caitlin Clark ultimately got it right, but she has to contemplate the agenda surrounding her name

Posted by enzo2go June 17, 2024

INDIANAPOLIS — Athletes often use platitudes as a defense mechanism. Rather than delving right into a potentially controversial topic and even addressing it in any respect, they offer non-answers and use cliches and pre-programmed talking points to remain at a protected distance.

Part of me would really like to imagine that Caitlin Clark did just that Thursday morning after I asked her if it bothered her that fans were using her name as a weapon within the culture war that’s dividing the country. The Indiana Fever star guard was unperturbed on the topic; she refused to open a single door.

“No,” she explained. “I don't see it. I don't see it. That's not my focus. My focus is here and on basketball. That's where it has to be, that's where it's been, and I'm just trying to get better every day.”

Clark backtracked five hours later, telling reporters that “people shouldn't be using my name to push these agendas,” however the damage was already done. Connecticut Sun winger DiJonai Carrington was considered one of those that spoke out against her initial comments, saying on X, “Dude, how someone can not care when their name is used to justify racism, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia and the intersectionalities of all of that is insane. We all see the crap. We all have a platform. We all have a voice and they all carry weight. Silence is a luxury.

It's not surprising that Clark initially desired to avoid the topic. She's a freshman trying to search out her way on a brand new team in a brand new league, at a time when the shots that were so consistent in college at the moment are more prone to miss. Instead of being the go-to guy that helped fuel her enormous popularity at Iowa, she sometimes finds herself on the bench in crucial moments due to her trouble with turnovers.

But you possibly can't hide behind basketball if you've been anointed because the towering rising tide that may propel the WNBA to even greater prosperity. And you actually can't hide behind basketball when individuals are using your name as a vehicle to advertise racism, misogyny, homophobia and other societal ills. To whom much is given, much is indeed required.

The topic is bound to come back up again Sunday when the Chicago Sky come 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 knocking Clark to the bottom with a unclean hip check on June 1. And Reese has drawn the ire of some Clark fans for taunting Clark during LSU's national championship victory two seasons ago.
But they aren't the one black women who’ve been attacked or ostracized by those that sought to defend Clark. Teammate Aliyah Boston deleted considered one of her social media accounts because she was uninterested in being bombarded by “couch coaches,” lots of whom tried to divert attention from Clark's early struggles by mentioning Boston's shortcomings.
A'ja Wilson, center for the Las Vegas Aces, is widely considered the WNBA's best player and a powerful ambassador for the game and its players. But when she responded that her skin color was a “huge” consider black players not receiving the identical attention or marketing opportunities as Clark, social media went to work. One person wrote, “My advice to A'ja Wilson: Instead of attributing this young lady's popularity to the fact that she plays in a league where 60 percent of the players are black, you should thank Caitlin Clark because without her I wouldn't know who you are or be talking about your sport.”

It's a convention in skilled sports that high-profile rookies are put through the wringer. Veterans go at them hard to see what they're fabricated from, regardless of the game or gender. But when Carrington fouled Clark and mocked the rookie for overdoing the contact, most of the comments on social media were predictable. “Caitlin Clark was again attacked by black players on Monday, this time in Connecticut,” one person wrote. “Suns guard DiJonai Carrington checked Clark hard and then mocked her after the obvious foul. The crowd booed. If the races had been reversed, Carrington would have been ejected.”

Clark hasn't made those comments, but I used to be curious what she thinks about people using her name as a divisive tool. Her first response Thursday morning: “That's not something I can control, so I don't spend too much thought and time thinking about that stuff. And, to be honest, I don't see a lot of it. Like I said, basketball is my job. Everything else I can't control, so I'm not going to spend time thinking about it. People can talk about whatever they want to talk about, have conversations about whatever, but I think I'm just here to play basketball. I'm just here to have fun. I'm trying to help our team win. … Honestly, I don't pay a lot of attention to any of that.”

But is she being honest? It should be said that Clark is 22 and faces enormous demands and expectations. That should definitely give her a certain level of composure. Still, her comments were troubling because they lacked awareness and empathy toward fellow black individuals who don't have the privilege of distancing themselves from the isms they face regularly.

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

Maybe she didn't want to handle it fully due to the sensitivity? Or perhaps she was following the recommendation of her inner circle, including advisers who may imagine it's more profitable to say nothing? It worked well for Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, even though it sent the message that cash was more necessary than morals. But the initial unwillingness to rise up to hate and harassment was problematic from the beginning in a league that’s predominantly black and has a large LGBTQ+ population.

Coincidentally, her comments got here on the identical day that the Women's National Basketball Players Association published a column within the Players' Tribune emphasizing how proud its members are of their history of fighting social injustice. “Our work has always been bigger than basketball,” it once said.

That's why it was necessary for Clark to reconsider her comments late Thursday, about an hour before the sport against the Atlanta Dream was to start. She risked losing the respect of a few of her peers, especially at a time when more distinguished white players are speaking out as allies within 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 famous player had stood silently on the sidelines as legendary WNBA player Sue Bird spoke. in a 2020 CNN articleor UConn guard Paige Bueckers addressed it during her acceptance speech on the ESPYs 2021or former LSU guard Hailey Van Lith last March described the criticism of her black teammates as racistor with the rookie of the Los Angeles Sparks Cameron Brink said last week“I admit that the younger white players in the league are a privilege.”

No one is asking Clark to be socially energetic or to play a distinguished role within the fight for respect, but it will be important to her to no less than denounce those that might misuse her name to foment hatred and division.

“It's disappointing, it's not acceptable…” she said before it was revealed that individuals were using her name to further their interests. “I admired this league and wanted to be a part of it. Some of the women in this league were my biggest idols and role models growing up. … Treating every single woman in this league with the same level of respect is just a basic human trait that everyone should do. Just be a kind human being and treat them the way you want to be treated.”

It can have taken her some time to specific those feelings, but that shouldn't take away from the proven fact that she ended up in the appropriate place. It was a positive step for her and the league.



image credit : www.nytimes.com

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