Coming out of a record-breaking NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, the entire sports world wondered how Caitlin Clark’s game would translate to the WNBA. When some analysts and veterans suggested that she—like most rookies in most sports—would have difficulty with the transition to the pros, they were called haters.
Now that the Indiana Fever have begun the season 0-4 and Clark hasn’t had the monster, highlight filled performances she had in college, some viewers, who don’t seem to understand how sports works, have suggested that the WNBA should have given her an easier schedule, or that competitors should take it easy on her so the games are more exciting.
It’s led to endless discourse about how other WNBA players are jealous of the attention she’s getting and that they should be more grateful about all the new eyeballs and coverage she’s bringing to the women’s game. Since he’s never at a loss when it comes to bad takes, Charles Barkley weighed in on a recent edition of “Inside the NBA,” saying, “You women out there, y’all are petty, man! [LeBron James], you’re 100% right on these girls hating on Clark. Y’all are petty, girls! I expect men to be petty because we’re the most insecure group in the world. Y’all should be thanking that girl for getting y’all ass private charters [and] all the money and visibility she’s bringing to the WNBA. Don’t be petty like dudes!”
Even for Barkley, this is some straight up nonsense!
In Clark’s first four games, she’s played against really good, championship caliber teams with All-Star, gold medal winning players. They’re not jealous of her, they played her hard because she’s a threat on the court. It’s not their job to let the Iowa alum get her shots off. When he was playing, never in a million years would Charles have laid down and let a star rookie make their name off of him. Why in the world is he expecting professional women athletes to do that?
And as for his assessment that she’s the reason the league decided to finally use charter flights this season, former No. 1 draft pick and ESPN basketball analyst Chiney Ogwumike responded to his comments on X.
“Ever since teams got in trouble last year for trying to find workarounds for charters, this was likely in the plans for this year, especially as owners and players presented a united front,” Ogwumike said. “(Our amazing Commish is very methodical, the right things happen but not overnight.)”
Yes, the phenomenal popularity of Clark has brought higher ratings and ticket sales to the 2024 season. But Chiney is right in pointing out that this growth has been building for several years. This moment isn’t about one player and it’s possibly to celebrate her, while also highlighting those who got the game here.
All this debate has led to another discussion about the way the media has covered Clark’s rise. Make no mistake, she’s earned everything with her talent and record-breaking scoring. However, it’s naive to think that her being white isn’t a factor in the hoopla surrounding Caitlin. In a sport routinely dominated by queer women and Black women, she’s straight and white. Let’s not act like marketing her isn’t more appealing to networks and advertisers. In fact, sports journalist Jemele Hill pointed this out in the Los Angeles Times, saying, “While so many people are happy for Caitlin’s success — including the players; this has had such an enormous impact on the game — there is a part of it that is a little problematic because of what it says about the worth and the marketability of the players who are already there.”
Hill’s comments led to “The View” hosts offering their opinions on Clark’s immense popularity and impact, with Sunny Hostin discussing her love of the WNBA and noting that the Fever guard will bring more money to the league, but “she is more relatable to people because she’s white, because she’s attractive, and unfortunately, there still is that stigma against the LGBTQ+ community.”
Whoopi Goldberg reminded everyone about Caitlin’s record-breaking stat line and compared the “white privilege”conversation surrounding her to those who say certain students only get accepted into the Ivy League because they’re Black.
Sorry Whoopi, but you’re wrong this time. In all the craziness around Caitlin Clark, no one, including Hill, has ever doubted her basketball ability. Something Jemele highlighted when she reacted to the segment Wednesday on X.
“Glad #TheView addressed my comments in the LA Times about Caitlin Clark’s massive popularity. I love Whoopi, but think she misrepresented my comments,” she wrote in part. “I said Caitlin Clark being straight, white and from Iowa ‘played a role’ in her popularity, It’s a factor, not THEE factor.”
For her part, Clark has kept her head down and focused on basketball. Though Indiana has gone winless in its first four games, she has improved, looking more comfortable in each outing. The Fever have been bad for quite some time, so this won’t be an overnight transformation. It’s going to take time and effort from the entire organization to make them consistent winners.
In the meantime, loyal WNBA fans who actually care about the whole league and not just one player would like all these fly by night newbies to relax, hush and just enjoy the basketball. If you’re not knowledgeable about the game, it’s OK for you to keep quiet and let those who know and respect women’s basketball take the lead on this one.