Whatever you think of Caitlin Clark and how she’s navigated her fame so far, you have to admit it often seems like she’s playing a game she can’t possibly win.
The Indiana Fever star is undeniably already one of the best basketball players in the world, but the conditions, history, and narratives around the sport have informed the way everyone sees her, and not always for the best.
She spent her rookie season attempting to be a blank slate, but that only invited people on all sides to project their concerns and values onto her. Now, she’s attempting to take more responsibility for her status and the attention she derives, but that’s kickstarted a similar round of frustrations and resentments on both sides.
Time Magazine recently named Clark as Athlete of the Year, and as part of that, the second-year WNBA player said in an interview that she acknowledged her white privilege and hoped to be part of the effort to elevate Black women. That sentiment, which many were asking to hear from Clark during the season, has been met with disdain and silence from critics on both sides.
Furthermore, one WNBA team owner went as far as to say that Clark should not have been honored individually by Time. Rather, the entire WNBA should have been on the cover.
Washington Mystics co-owner Sheila Johnson recently appeared on CNN to discuss to share her concerns about the magazine cover and honor.
“We have so much talent out there that has been unrecognized. And I don’t think we can pin it on just one player. I want to be very diplomatic about this,” Johnson said. “It’s just the structure of the way media plays out race. I’m going to be very honest. I feel really bad because I’ve seen so many players of color that are equally as talented and they never got the recognition they should have. And I think that right now it is time for that to happen.
“Why couldn’t they have put the whole WNBA on that cover and said the WNBA is the league of the year? Because of all the talent that we have. Because when we just keep singling out one player it creates hard feelings. And so now you’re starting to hear stories of racism within the WNBA and I don’t want to hear that. We have got to operate and become stronger as a league and respect everybody that’s playing and their talents.”
The conversation is similar to the one that played out when First Lady Jill Biden floated the idea of inviting Clark and Iowa to the White House after the LSU Tigers defeated them to win the national title. There was a near-universal pushback to that suggestion, including from Clark, with many noting that competition and victory in sports still have to mean something even as progress is sought.
Many things seem to be true when it comes to the ongoing saga surrounding Clark. The WNBA and its predominantly Black superstars have been sorely underappreciated for decades. There are many great athletes playing today in the league who deserve a spotlight. The 2024 WNBA rookie class is full of amazing basketball players just embarking on storied careers. And separate from all of that, Caitlin Clark is a generational talent who commands attention and draws record-breaking audiences wherever she goes.
Trying to diminish her doesn’t automatically raise the tide for everyone else. It doesn’t work like that.
The chances everyone can get everything they want in a situation where all of those things co-exist are slim. The hope is that everyone can find a way to see all of it as opportunities that can positively impact one another. We’ll see if we get there.
