Is there a “sports race war” going on involving Iowa’s Caitlyn Clark, who just helped her team secure a Final Four berth against LSU on Monday evening? That’s the word from Jemele Hill, who has never met an issue she can’t somehow turn into a diatribe about “white supremacy.”
Appearing on Dan Lehbatard’s show, Hill complained that people are “projecting” their assumptions onto Clark and using her as a toll in a supposed race war.
“‘Oh, here’s this wonderful, kind soul from the great state of Iowa, representing middle America.’ What happens in these Sports Race Wars is everybody projects their own sh*t on the people who are actually involved in the competitiveness of it.” – @jemelehill explains why Iowa vs… pic.twitter.com/ZGsceJ0JQt
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) April 1, 2024
I don’t know Clark. Perhaps she is a “wonderful, kind soul from the great state of Iowa, representing middle America.” Does Hill know whether she is or not? Is it somehow racist to see Clark, who is from Iowa, the literal definition of middle America, as a representative of middle America?
I see no real evidence that the popularity of Clark is based on her skin color. It’s based on the fact that she is objectively the best women’s basketball player in the college ranks right now. For Hill, though, the fact that Clark is so beloved must mean racial grievance is somehow involved and that it is others who are stoking the “sports race wars.”
That is a hall-of-fame-worthy level of projection.
The projection here is incredible. https://t.co/r9BVQPp2DD pic.twitter.com/KNRNpiVhWP
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) April 2, 2024
I’m not a big purveyor of women’s college basketball, but from what I’ve seen, the hype surrounding Clark is not being used as a conduit for “white rage” or whatever other descriptor someone like Hill would choose. On the contrary, the only example of the “sports race wars” I’ve seen has come from Hill herself, as shown by her above piece in which she complains that black players are being marginalized by the national focus on Clark.
Most people simply don’t see sports through the lens of race. It just so happens that the person currently dominating women’s college basketball is white. Hill, on the other hand, sees everything through the lens of race. She has a long history of taking political and sports topics and twisting them to be examples of racism.
For example, she pushed the BYU racism hoax. She also accused Winsome Sears, who is black, of being a white supremacist after her big election win in 2021. Further, she claimed that LSU’s Angel Reece, who mocked Clark a year earlier during the 2023 tournament, was a victim of racism after receiving backlash for her behavior.
It’s difficult to find commentary made by Hill that doesn’t include some accusation of racism, yet she wants to accuse others of projecting their prejudices onto sports. I mean, come on. No one has stoked the “sports race wars” and sowed more division in that space than she has.
Editor’s Note: This article was edited post-publication to reflect that Iowa’s victory sends them to the Final Four rather than securing the national championship.
