The ugly discourse surrounding Caitlin Clark
I learned how swiftly the “Clarkies” can turn an innocent observation into an offense, and how dicey it can be to cover Clark when she has a subpar game. After Clark’s much-hyped professional debut, I wrote that Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington, a Black woman, “stripped her clean at half court.” Yet a male reader corrected me in an email that no, no, Clark was instead “cross; checked [sic] by a so-called top defensive opponent like in the NHL.” Another reader accused me of being “racial” — which I assume is better than being “racist” — because I dared to note Carrington’s defense.
Carter’s flagrant foul, upgraded by the league the next day, only inflamed the hysteria from those either blinded by their affection for Clark, or too ignorant to understand how heated competition works.
Consider what that argument implies. That Clark has elevated the league so much that competitors, paid professionals, should send Clark thank-you notes before every tip-off, then spend the rest of the game ushering her to the paint for open layups. How many other athletes, in the history of mankind, have ever been criticized for competing too hard? And who on Earth would consider Barkley, who once told a female reporter, ‘I don’t hit women, but if I did, I would hit you,’ a thought leader on women? Or as he called WNBA players, “these girls.”
Others have uttered worse. Across social media, Carter has been called a “thug,” her appearance lampooned and her shoulder check viewed as not simply a flagrant foul committed on a basketball court in downtown Indianapolis, but an “assault” perpetrated on the southside of Chicago.
Clark’s fans are engaging in these bigoted narratives, but so are the alarmists who have nothing better to do than to ruin women’s basketball. It would be naive to think that Clark hasn’t noticed this messiness swirling on social media and in major news outlets. She’s a pro, she has agency.
And power. She is not a minor, but rather an adult woman. And if this narrative that pits her against her Black peers makes her uncomfortable, then she needs to speak up and say so. Same goes for the Fever organization — as soon as those in charge are done using their platform to complain that their golden ticket is getting bruised up.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/06/04/caitlin-clark-chennedy-carter/
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