Indiana Fever superstar rookie guard Caitlin Clark is a practicing Catholic. In light of this, what she’s had to endure since joining the WNBA, and the grace with which she’s dealt with harassment both on and off the court, should make Clark eligible for sainthood by the time the WNBA season ends in October.
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The latest attempted verbal mugging took place on Thursday, June 13, 2024, when a reporter tried baiting Clark into going after unidentified, yet painfully obviously conservative commentators who have dared speak truth regarding how poorly served Clark has been by the league she loves.
REPORTER: Caitlin, I know you mentioned that, you know, you want to focus straight on basketball. I definitely respect that.
But you don’t:
REPORTER: But when — just asking you directly when people use your name for racism, misogyny, whatever, what is your response to that specifically?
Got examples there, bud? We know facts are hard for progressives, but try having some at least occasionally:
CLARK: Yeah, I think it’s disappointing. I think everybody in our world deserves the same amount of respect. The women in our league deserve the same amount of respect.
Considering how trashed, on and off the court, Clark has been by her “peers,” a sign of Clark’s class is that she said this with a straight face:
CLARK: So people should not be using my name to push those agendas. It’s disappointing. You know, it’s not acceptable.
No argument there. That said, stating the truth is not pushing an agenda. Truth has no agenda save being utterly faithful to proclaiming facts:
CLARK: But yeah, I mean, this league is the league I grew up admiring and wanting to be a part of. Like, some of the women in this league were my biggest idols and role models growing up and helped me want to achieve this moment right here that I get to play in every single night.
Again, true. Clark loves the WNBA and its players, both past and present, far more than the WNBA loves her, no matter how she single-handedly has raised the league into being part of the national conversation period, let alone gaining a foothold in the sports fans overall mindset:
CLARK: So just treating every single woman in this league with the same amount of respect, I think, is just a basic human thing that everybody should do. Like, just be a kind person, and treat them, you know, how you would want to be treated. And I think it’s very simple.
Simple, yes. Possible, for at least some WNBA players, not so much, as this rant by Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington aimed at Clark makes clear:
Dawg. How one can not be bothered by their name being used to justify racism, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia & the intersectionalities of them all is nuts. We all see the sh*t. We all have a platform. We all have a voice & they all hold weight. Silence is a luxury.
— dιjonaι carrιngтon♛ (@DijonaiVictoria) June 13, 2024
Clark is a traditionally raised, Midwestern young woman whose favorite player growing up was Maya Moore. Who happens to be black.
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The WNBA’s problems are not racism or misogyny. The issues start with the game itself. Compared to the men’s game, women’s basketball is played at a plodding pace and features more missed shot attempts than the class nerd trying to get a varsity cheerleader to accompany him to the prom. So here comes Clark, draining 3’s during those brief moments when she isn’t getting bodyslammed in the name of “aggressive defense” and dishing off pinpoint passes to her teammates so they can miss wide-open layups. And she’s the one responsible for the WNBA drawing zero attention whenever she’s not on the court? Although, to be fair, given how generally uninteresting the game is to watch when she’s otherwise occupied, perhaps she should shoulder the blame.
The WNBA’s second issue is, as Bonchie succinctly put it, its willingness to set itself on fire. Does Clark’s popularity stem from being white? No. It stems from being fun to watch on the court and personable off of it, the same action plan used to great success by U.S. Olympic gymnast Simone Biles. Who, as some may have noticed, quite thoroughly disproves the notion that being black impedes being a sports hero. Caitlin Clark doesn’t give off the vibe of demanding to be worshipped and immediately dismissing any and all who aren’t interested in the WNBA as being racist. Maybe her fellow players should try it sometime.
