On Caitlin Clark getting bullied around, people are losing it and missing the point | Opinion

It’s the shove heard around the world. Caitlin Clark, the much-hyped WNBA rookie with the Indiana Fever, who has elevated women’s basketball to new heights, was on the receiving end of what might be the most debated hip-check in the history of women’s sports. It was delivered on Saturday by Chennedy Carter of the Chicago Sky. By Sunday, Carter’s common foul was upgraded by the WNBA to a more serious flagrant foul, and the whole thing was still viral on Monday.

The Caitlin Clark craze is taking over sports and is going to make the WNBA a lot of money, but in circumstances like Carter’s cheapshot, we’re seeing how wild the Clark circus can get.

Opinion

Everyone has a conspiracy as to why Carter chose to square up and give Clark a hard push, from jealousy to racial animosity. Clark is white, Carter is Black. So is Angel Reese, Carter’s teammate, and another much-hyped WNBA rookie who has a history with Clark.

But here’s one crazy theory you haven’t heard yet: they’re just playing freaking basketball.

This roughing up of Clark did not just begin with Carter. New York Liberty forward and reigning WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart, a white woman, gave Clark a hard screen back when they faced off on May 16. Pounding rookies has a long history in men’s sports.

From Michael Jordan to Magic Johnson, rookies have always received their “welcome to the league” moments. Jordan was pummeled for years by the “Bad Boyz” Detroit Pistons. Larry Bird got it from the Pistons as well and Johnson was hounded by Bird and the Boston Celtics.

Clark has busted onto the WNBA scene with an unstoppable three-point shooting ability, sponsorship deals galore and a cult-like following. But she also comes with something every hyped-up rookie gets, a target on their back. And the income disparity between her and the rest of the league is unprecedented in modern American sports. The average WNBA player (there are 144 of them) makes an average of less than $117,000. Clark’s contract with one sponsor, Nike, is reportedly worth up to $28 million. That one deal for one player is nearly double the annual payroll of the entire league. Talk about a target.

Fans of Clark are too comfortable with saying “We only watch women’s basketball because of her.” Sure that might be true for thousands, if not millions of fans across the country, but that phrase undermines the other talent on the court.

Caitlin Clark needs support

The Indiana Fever needs someone who can add protection for Clark and not many know that better than Sacramento’s own Matt Barnes, a former Sacramento King and NBA enforcer..

“Throughout the season (Clark) has been getting beat up--hard screens, elbows, knocked down. It is what it is. She’s not the first, she won’t be the last. My question is where the (expletive) are her teammates at? Where are the rest of the Indiana Fever at?,” Barnes said in a video posted on social media. “Y’all are supposed to protect the asset, protect the star. The rest of the league is gonna continue to test her and that’s what they’re supposed to do.”

Aliyah Boston, Clark’s teammate and the first player chosen in last year’s WNBA draft, walked slowly over to Clark with no energy or fire, not even getting into the face of Carter. That is a poor showing of camaraderie that will plague Clark and her Fever teammates until that is fixed.

What others seem to have forgotten is that Clark has a whole team behind her. If there’s blame being thrown anywhere it should be at Clark’s teammates.

Clark will be fine

Instead of storylines centered on jealousy and race, let’s make it about how a phenomenon from Iowa is helping grow a women’s basketball league and putting more eyes on the game which means people are finally starting to take notice of the talents of the WNBA athletes.

The bumps and bruises that Clark gets this season are all part of the process.. It will take time and a better team culture but Clark will be a diamond and we all get to admire. Meanwhile, lost in the Clark hype is that the WNBA is about more than just Clark.

“People are talking about women’s they way you’ve never thought they’d be talking about women’s basketball,” said Angel Reese, who was criticized for standing and cheering when Clark was knocked to the ground.

“The reason why we watch women’s basketball is not just because of one person, it’s because of me too and I want y’all to realize that,“ she said.

Reese is right. There is nothing that helps a storyline quite like a rivalry, especially in sports. These two will be associated with each other for quite some time.

So for the viewers upset about the Clark foul, take this simple advice, shut up and watch.