By KYLE HIGHTOWER (AP Sports Writer)
For much of the last two years, Caitlin Clark has been the main figure in the college basketball world.
Now Clark, similar to NBA Hall of Famer Larry Bird 45 years ago, is involuntarily the center of conversations about race and her switch to professional basketball. Even though Clark hasn't made any comments to contribute to the Black-white narrative surrounding her rapid ascent, there are discussions about a double standard.
“I think it's a big thing. I think a lot of people may say it's not about Black and white, but to me, it is,” Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson said when asked about the race element in Clark’s popularity and before she recently secured two major endorsement deals. “It really is because you can be top-notch at what you are as a Black woman, but yet maybe that’s something that people don’t want to see.
“They don’t see it as marketable, so it doesn’t matter how hard I work. It doesn’t matter what we all do as Black women, we’re still going to be swept underneath the rug. That’s why it boils my blood when people say it’s not about race because it is.”
To be clear, Clark is a talented basketball player from Iowa. Bird was a talented basketball player from Indiana State. And like Bird, Clark has captivated audiences and brought unparalleled attention to women’s basketball with an ability to score from every corner of the court.
Neither Bird nor Clark were the first great white male or female pro basketball players. Jerry West is the actual NBA logo and before Clark, the long list of talented white WNBA players included Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart.
But sports can be enhanced by a heated rivalry, especially when race is involved.
Clark’s ascent has come with an on-court confidence that made her must-watch TV as she led the Hawkeyes to back-to-back NCAA championship game appearances. When Bird led the Sycamores to the title game in 1979, he competed against Magic Johnson in one of the most-watched games in NCAA tourney history.
At Iowa, Clark’s on-court opponent in the NCAA Tournament was former LSU star Angel Reese. Then she faced women’s powerhouse South Carolina and coach Dawn Staley. The matchups created the kind of made-for-social media moments that captivated audiences, no matter their gender.
The matchups also led to ongoing discussions about how race affects the treatment given to Clark, a white woman from “America’s Heartland,” compared to Black counterparts like Reese.
Clark has said she and Reese are just parts of a larger movement.
“I would say me and Angel have always been great competitors,” Clark said before Iowa’s Elite Eight matchup with Reese and LSU in March. “I think Angel would say the same, like it’s not just us in women’s basketball. That’s not the only competitive thing about where our game is at, and that’s what makes it so good. We need multiple people to be really good.”
Still, the race-based debate over perceived slights to Black players or favoritism toward Clark is not going away as the top pick in the WNBA draft is getting ready for her first regular-season game on Tuesday night when Indiana plays Connecticut.
“I think new fans, or maybe returning fans to women’s college basketball, have been attracted. In part because of Clark. But also, you know, because of the LSU-Iowa rivalry,” said Victoria Jackson, a sports historian and clinical associate professor of history at Arizona State University.
“There are basketball reasons,” Jackson said, “but also there are racial reasons for why Clark has been able to kind of move into a completely different level from players that came before her.”
Because of the perceived double-standard, nearly everything involving Clark gets questioned:
— Clark’s first preseason game was streamed, but Reese’s wasn't.
— Clark gets an endorsement deal. Other established Black stars not so much.
— If Reese talks trash, it’s seen as unsportsmanlike. If Clark does it, she’s being competitive.
— Reese received some backlash for going to the Met Gala before a game, raising questions would there have been same type of scrutiny if Clark had graced the red carpet.
Wilson, who signed with Gatorade last week and announced Saturday that she is getting a Nike signature shoe, and others have cited how companies are clamoring to be in business with Clark as an example of the disparity in how players are treated.
The deal Clark made with Nike will reportedly pay her $28 million over eight years — making it the richest sponsorship contract for a women’s basketball player, and it includes a signature shoe. Before Wilson’s announcement Saturday, the only other active players in the WNBA with a signature shoe were Elena Delle Donne, Sabrina Ionescu and Stewart – who are all white.
The perception extends beyond endorsements.
While Clark’s preseason debut was available on the WNBA League Pass streaming app, a post on the X platform from the WNBA incorrectly stated that all games, including the debut of Reese and fellow rookie former South Carolina standout Kamilla Cardoso for the Chicago Sky, would also be available.
So, a fan in attendance at the Sky’s game livesteamed it. It received more than 620,000 views.
In an apology post explaining why the Sky’s game wasn’t also available, the WNBA said Clark’s game was available as part of a limited free preview of its streaming app.
There also have been racial components to how Clark is treated on social media as compared to others, most notably Reese.
Reese, who has previously spoken about the hostility she received online, was recently attacked again after she missed a preseason practice to attend the Met Gala. Clark also has been the target of online criticism, but apparently not to the extent that Reese has been.
Online hate-speech accounts for approximately 1 percent of all social media posts in the context of sports, according to Daniel Kilvington, course director in Media & Cultural Studies at Leeds Beckett University in Leeds, England.
“Although this might sound quite low, consider how much traffic is online and how many posts are made every single day,” said Kilvington, whose work with the Tackling Online Hate in Football research group has looked at the issue through the sport of soccer. “One percent is therefore 1% too high as athletes are primary targets of hate-speech, harassment and death threats simply for playing a game they love.”
But as Clark’s fame increases, the discussion will also grow. Jackson thinks it’s a good time to openly talk about it.
“I don’t know how many times I read and heard her described as exceptional talent,” the ASU professor said. “And whenever we’re making those cases, I immediately think, well, who are the other exceptional talents we’ve had? And, I think too often the athletes could be placed in that category who have been Black women have not had that sort of gushing attention. And especially the kind of general public, crossover saturation that Caitlin Clark has had.
“There are overlapping, intersecting reasons for why that is. But, I think we can’t not think about it if the goal here is to have equitable treatment of the athletes in the sport.”
___
AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson and AP reporter Corey Williams contributed.
___
WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
